Full Circle
by jibber59
Summary: Family is never easy. Final Saga in the Cycle story line in the ATF universe. If you haven't read Cycle of Life, and Wheels within Wheels, I would recommend you do so first. (Rating is based on some adult language and discussions.)
1. Chapter 1

Josiah stood at the meeting room window, scanning the street below. His imposing silhouette created an intimidating view for anyone who might've been looking up. What they wouldn't have seen was the tension on his face and the sadness in his eyes. He felt like the weight of the world rested on his broad shoulders, and he wasn't sure they could handle this load. He was beginning to doubt anyone could.

He watched as the cause for his concern arrived. The sports car smoothly slid into its standard parking space. Josiah waited, hoping to see Ezra jump out with his usual aplomb. The door didn't open. Darkly tinted windows kept observers at bay, but Josiah didn't need to see inside to know exactly what was going on. Ezra would be leaning forward, head resting lightly on the steering wheel as he gave himself the pep talk he needed to face the world today. Trying to convince himself that it was worth the effort. That he was worth the effort.

Josiah had looked at his watch when he saw the car, and now glanced down again. Four minutes. Longer than yesterday. Longer than most days. But he'd expected that to be the case today.

"He still sitting out there? Chris asked quietly from the door.

"Almost 5 minutes."

"Damn. I told him not to come in today, but he's just too damn stubborn for his own good."

"A rather common character trait around here." Josiah answered without turning, not taking his eyes off the subject, or at least his car.

"Yeah, well he's turned it into an art form."

"You didn't really think he'd stay away today, did you?"

"I hoped he would. All but ordered him to. But no, I didn't expect it." He saw Josiah's body language shift. "He's coming?"

"Car door his open. Yes, he's out."

To a casual observer, Ezra Standish seemed the picture of style and self-assurance. Crisply dressed, wearing his almost trademarked burgundy coloured leather jacket and exuding charm as he smiled at everyone he passed. Josiah knew that he would flirt innocently with the receptionist when he entered the building and would patiently hold the elevator door for straglers.

The problem was, Josiah was not a casual observer. He was a highly trained ATF agent. He was a profiler. He was a psychologist. And most importantly, he was Ezra's friend. He saw the stiffness in the walk. He saw the weight loss that made the jacket a little less tailored. He saw the tightening of Ezra's jaw when he gave that familiar smile that was no longer lighting up his face. The others saw it too.

Buck had tried to set up double dates, or boy's-nights out, but Ezra always had a prior commitment. Weekly poker games had become a thing of the past as well. The men all agreed it was much easier on their budgets, but each dearly wished they could be losing to the card shark again.

Perhaps most telling was Ezra's absence at the ranch. He'd only been out once since they'd come back from San Francisco, not counting the night they'd actually returned. It had been when Chris had let him know the vet was coming to check on Chaucer. He wasn't eating, wasn't socializing, just basically wasn't being himself. A lot like his owner.

So, Ezra came out and had a talk with the horse, which Chris figured was at least as useful as the vet had been. Chaucer's mood seemed to lift a little, which is was more than could be said for Ezra. But at least now JD and Vin were able to take over the care of the beast, even though it was clear he was every bit as concerned as were the humans.

"My apologies for my late arrival." Ezra greeted them with what was basically a standard comment. He no longer even bothered to offer an excuse. "I have been giving some thought to the case the judge presented us with yesterday and believe Vin might be better suited to the assignment. His more casual style would likely be a better fit."

"Yeah, 'cause you can't pull off casual." Buck challenged him. Ezra turning down a job was a new wrinkle.

"I didn't say I couldn't. Only that perhaps I shouldn't. Besides, it is unwise for me to take on all of the assignments. You gentlemen are all imminently qualified, and the agency should be taking full advantage of those stellar skills."

"Ezra, the job needs a man whose urbane, cocky, self-reliant, and an expert with cards, racetracks, and any other form of gambling you could name. I'm not saying Vin couldn't handle the job –"

"But he is saying it practically describes you." Vin finished for Buck. "What gives?"

"Nothing gives. I was simply trying to offer someone else the opportunity to take on the role. If that is not an option, then perhaps I should spend some time preparing for the assignment. Unless you have something else for me to attend to today?"

"You mean like meeting with the DA from San Francisco? No Ezra. I told you, we don't want you anywhere near that case."

"Understandable. My involvement clearly would taint –"

"Dammit Ezra. We are not going to have that fight again." Surprisingly, it was Nathan who lost his temper on this. "You're not tainting anything. There is just no need for you to put yourself through the process."

"The process as you all call it, is a trial. Something I am more than familiar with. I have never had any trouble testifying in the past."

"Yeah? How many times have you had to testify against your brother in a murder case?"

Ezra spun to face JD. "Half-brother. And none. Although I suppose the eventuality was inevitable."

"I'm sorry Ezra. I didn't mean it the way it sounded." Ezra turned away, not responding. Getting mad at JD serve no purpose. It only negated the very image of control he was trying so hard to maintain.

"He's worried about you, s – Ezra." Josiah almost slipped again. He hadn't called Ezra's son since that day in San Francisco. He vowed to himself he was never going to do it again. Never put that connection between them.

"We're all worried about you." Chris amended. "And being here, today, is something you don't need."

"I believe I am the best judge of what I do or do not need Chris."

"No, I don't think you are. You haven't been for a while now." He took a lot of comfort in the fact they were all still in a first name basis, although he suspected it was as much from Ezra's inability to maintain his posturing as it was from anything else.

"For a while? How long would you say that was? Since I kicked my mother out of my life? Since I found that I have a slew of siblings whose very existence was a revelation to me? Since the day I killed my father? Is that the while you are referring to?" _Well, so much for the pretense of control Standish_ , he thought to himself.

"Ezra, go home. If you don't want to do that, then go to the ranch. Take a walk. Take Chaucer for a ride. He'd like that. Just get away from here for the day. Or longer. You need it."

"I need no such thing. I've dealt with all the mandatory psychiatric reviews and have been declared fit for duty."

Buck bark out a laugh. "Fooling the ATF shrink is child's play for you Ez. Even on a bad day."

"Be that as it may, there is no reason or justification for me to take my leave today. If you are going to insist I refrain from involvement in today's – activity – I shall retire to a private space and, as indicated earlier, prepare for the next assignment." He turned and left before anyone comment.

"Well that when about as well as I'd anticipated." Chris sighed deeply.

"What did you expect Chris? He hasn't really dealt with any of this over the last two months. Now it's staring him in the face again."

"Just what the hell are we supposed to do Josiah? Every step we take is like walking into a minefield."

"We tread carefully. And be ready to catch him when he falls off that wall he keeps building, because at the rate he's going, it's gonna be a long fall."

Nathan agreed, but it didn't really help matters. "That's all great for the long-term and it really goes without saying. Question is, what do we do today?"

"Well, mostly what we've been saying. Keep him busy or get him out of here."

"Fine." Chris stood quietly for a moment. "Buck, JD, take him out for a drink – or several drinks." He was of the opinion Ezra had been doing a bit to much of that lately, but for today, right now, he was willing to set that to the side.

"Uh, Chris?" JD offered hesitantly. "It's 10 o'clock in the morning."

"If there's a bar open somewhere," Buck replied, "I can find it."

Chris glared ineffectively. "Just take him out for breakfast. Take him to lunch. Hell, take him to Disneyland. I don't care. Just keep him away from all this."

"Not going to be an issue Chris." Josiah was back at the window. "His car is gone."

Chris sighed once again. "JD, see if you can track him from his phone. Don't call him. Just – hell – just keep an eye on things."

7-7-7-7-7-7-7

The team sat impatiently in the boardroom while DA Keller went over the case for what seemed like the millionth time. When he started reviewing the order of the witnesses again, Buck snapped. "You do know we've done this kind of ship before, right? Not our first pony ride.

"This case has – complications."

"Not from our perspective."

Keller stared incredulously. "Really? The connection you all have with Trevor Standish doesn't concern you?"

"We have no connection with Trevor Standish, outside of the fact we arrested him."

"I shot him." Vin added helpfully.

"Oh yeah, and Vin shot him." Buck snarled.

"And you don't expect that his lawyer will mention your working and professional relationship with his brother?"

"Half-brother." JD echoing the sentiments expressed earlier. "And until about five minutes before all this went down, Ezra didn't even know he existed."

"So he says."

Buck was out of his seat and nose to nose with Keller in a matter of seconds. "Yeah. So he says. You have a problem with that?"

To his credit, Keller didn't even flinch. "No, I don't. But you can bet your ass the jury will. And that his lawyer will bring it up. Along with your friend's history with the FBI, and some of his other history. He's petitioned have his juvenile arrest record open for God's sake."

"Ezra has a juvenile arrest record?" JD repeated. Any further question was swallowed when he heard Buck's growl.

"What the hell for? What difference does any of that make? We've got evidence putting Trevor at the security guard's house. We've got dying comments from his own father. We've got the fucking gun."

"Circumstantial evidence, hearsay comments, and a gun found in a room shared with at least two other people. Which wasn't locked. And a number of you were in the room at the time."

It was Chris's turn to challenge him. "You saying we planted it? When the hell would we – wait? You're saying Ezra had the gun?" He took another step closer, and this time Keller did move back, just a little.

" **I'm** not saying anything. I'm telling you what the defence is going to do here. Whatever it takes to muddy the waters. And I intend to be ready for whatever crap they try to stir up. I should think that's what you'd want to."

Chris stared at him for a good 30 seconds, then took a step back. "We'll go over everything as many times as you need."

Keller tried to soothe the well rattled nerves. "Look gentlemen. We all have the same outcome in mind. I want a conviction. You want to protect your friend. In the long run, my success will help you, so can we try to work together?" Chris nodded, not pleased but unable to disagree. "Good. One more thing. Can you get your man to stop calling me? I'm hearing from him almost daily and it's not helping. I can't discuss this with him."

Chris blew out a long slow breath. Here was an unexpected, but not terribly surprising, item to deal with. "I'll try. He's not exactly in team player mode at the moment."

"Well get him in line on this. Like I said, I intend to win this case, and I can't risk anything interfering. It just won't help."

"I'll do what I can. Let me know when you decide for sure which of us is going to be testifying. I assume you still don't need all of us?"

"Still need to review for a few things, but likely you and Mr. Tanner. Maybe Mr. Sanchez as well."

"I can assume that my offer of assistance is once again being rejected."

The voice from the doorway startled all of them. Chris was on his feet first. "Dammit Ezra. I told you to stay clear of this."

"Yes Agent Standish. While I appreciate the offer and I'm sure you can provide some fascinating perspectives –"

"Please, save yourself the trouble. I understand my involvement will cause far more trouble than assistance. That, however does not preclude me from having a deep desire to be aware of just what the hell is going on." He was just short of shouting by the time he got to the end of the sentence. Ezra losing his temper, especially with outsiders in the room, was a rare sight. Chris was just a hair's breadth away from losing his as well.

Keller picked up his briefcase and files. "I will leave this for all of you to sort through. I'll be in touch Agent Larabee." He paused in front of Ezra. "I can't begin to understand what this is like for you, but I can guarantee you I'm going to do whatever I can to ensure everyone on our side of the law is happy with the outcome, and no one on their side is. As long as that is the final result, I don't care if you're pleased with my way of doing things are not."

Ezra watched him depart and the team was more than astonished to see a small smile come to his face. "Yes – I think he'll do nicely." He said nothing more, leaving the room to head back to his project.

"Did Ezra just approve of that guy?" Buck asked in evident disbelief.

"It would appear so." Josiah was smiling himself. "We may have just seen the first movement forward he's taken in quite a while."

"Yeah, well it still seems like it's gonna be a hell of a long trip." Vin complained, worried about Ezra.

JD couldn't get his mind off what, for him at least, had been a revelation during the meeting. "Chris, did you know Ezra had a record?"

"A juvenile record kid. Big difference."

"What for?"

Buck was surprised that the kid would care. "What does that matter?"

"It matters Buck."

"Why? Make you think different about him? Don't tell me you don't trust him now?"

"It matters," JD was determined to keep from losing his cool, "because he's our friend. And if we are going to try to understand what his family put him through, what they did to him, or made him do, then we need to know as much as we can. It matters because just maybe it will make a little easier to help him."

Buck continued to stare, then suddenly turned to Chris, grinning. "Damn Chris, hiring this kid was one of your smarter ideas."

"Unlike hiring you, you mean?"

"Nah. That was your smartest one."

 _tbc_

 _ **M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7**_


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the day passed slowly, bogged down in paperwork and worry. They all periodically tried to look in on Ezra, but he remained locked away working on his next project.

When time came to pack up for the day, Nathan headed over to invite him to join the for dinner and drinks. It wasn't a usual night out, but everyone agreed it was a good idea.

Nathan came back to the bullpen a minute later. "Don't suppose any of you know when he left?"

"He's gone again?" Buck moved to check the sequestered office, and immediately realized the futility of the action.

"Over an hour ago." Chris was reviewing his emails, a chore he avoided whenever possible. "Damn. He knew I wouldn't see this in time to say anything."

"Do we go by his place to pick him up?" Vinh asked, already reaching for his keys.

"No, he'd figured we were checking up on him." Nathan replied.

"So?" JD replied. "We are. What's wrong with him knowing that we're worried."

"Trust me, he knows, kid." Buck assured him. "That's part of the problem."

"No," Chris realized, "the problem is we're pussyfooting around him. He's right. He wants to – no – needs to know what's going on. I'm betting the scenarios his imagination has dreamt up are a hell of a lot worse than the reality we've dug up."

"I don't know Chris. The reality really sucks." JD replied.

"True, but his imagination knows no bounds."

"You know," Buck drawled lightly, "we could probably help you decide on this if we knew what the hell you were talking about."

JD looked embarrassed, and Chris wasn't exactly meeting anyone's eyes either.

"We decided –" JD started.

"I decided. Don't take this on your shoulders JD. When Ezra's trying to figure out who to kill, it's all on me."

"What did you guys do?" Josiah's question was a blend of curiosity and accusation.

"We've been tracking his family." JD answered.

"Well hell, he knows that. Keeping an eye on Maude won't piss him off." Buck relaxed.

"Not that family. The other side."

Vin leaned forward. "You've been digging into the Standish family tree? Are you insane Chris? Do you have any idea what kind of hornet's nest you might be stirring up?"

"A very good idea. It started by trying to figure out where William Standish might've disappeared to after the shooting."

"Yeah, can imagine he's none to happy with Ezra killing his brother that way."

"Well, the fact his brother is Ezra's father makes our **friend** none to pleased about it either, and that worries me a lot more."

"I know Buck. I'm thinking about the 'getting even' side of things." Chris explained.

"Then it occurred to us there might be more family in the picture."

"And…" Josiah asked.

Chris hesitated "I'm not comfortable going into details yet. Ezra has the right to know all of this before you guys do. Starting with the fact that we've even been looking."

"I'd surmised that some time ago. It was an inevitable progression of your investigation."

"Geez Ezra, you gotta stop sneaking up like that." JDs guilty conscience showed clearly on his face. _This boy has no future in undercover work_ Ezra thought, and not for the first time.

"It would appear that I am not the only one who is less than transparent in their activities."

Chris stalled. "Thought you'd left for the day."

"Making it safe to discuss your activities?"

"That's not what –" Chris capitulated. "Well, sort of. Look Ezra –"

"Relax. As I said, I would have been surprised to discover you were not pursuing this avenue of investigation. Why do you suppose I've been so anxious to be kept informed on your discoveries?"

"You ain't mad at me?" JD asked tentatively."

Ezra couldn't help himself from smiling. "How could I be mad at people who are willing to go to such lengths an effort to keep me safe and secure, and sane. That you had the best of intentions goes without saying. But –" Ezra hesitated to add his next thought.

Josiah, however knew exactly where he was headed. "But the road to hell is paved with good intentions, right Ezra?"

"That is the conclusion I have reached over time."

"Not sure I'd call this hell Ezra, but I can't say as you going to like a lot of what we found out."

"Again, not a startling revelation. I have rarely been pleasantly surprised by any news concerning my family. Provided you can assure me that there are no axe murderers in the mix, I shall consider it a success." When Chris didn't reply immediately Ezra paled. "Oh, good Lord! Axe murderers?"

"No Ezra. Can't say that it went quite that extreme. But I'm thinking this isn't a discussion we need to have here."

It didn't sound like something that should be discussed in a public venue either. "That sounds somewhat ominous. Have you a destination in mind?"

"Well, I'm guessing you've seen enough of Inez's place for the day, or the week." Chris regretted that he sounded quite so sharp as he said that.

"Yes. I wondered if she had contacted you yet. I expected the time was coming."

"She called a few days back. Said you were becoming a bit to good of a customer." Chris paused. "She's not the only one worried."

"Is that why you keep going there Ezra? To get caught?"

"A scenario I hadn't considered. You imply Josiah, that my subconscious is making the effort to protect me from myself?"

"I'd be glad if some part of you is."

Chris couldn't stop himself from offering a caution based on vast personal experience. "Drinking isn't gonna help things Ezra. Trust me – I know."

"I am aware of that, and of the myriad of negative outcomes that could result from continuing unabated with such activity."

"And?"

"And I am having far more difficulty than I like to admit giving a rat's ass about any of it."

7-7-7-7-7-7-7

Ninety minutes later the men, all seven, were putting finishing touches on dinner preparations. In this case, that meant getting out stacks of napkins, putting the cold beer cans into ice filled tubs, and waiting for the pizzas to be delivered.

Ezra had only just rejoined the group, after spending close to an hour making amends to Chaucer for the extended period of neglect. The horse now had the best-groomed look of his life and was almost sick of peppermint treats. Almost, but not quite, as he tried to dig into Ezra's pocket for a final indulgence. "Enough Chaucer. If I can forego alcohol for the evening," not that he really expected to do so, "you can just say no to peppermints." He gave his mount one more affectionate nose rub before heading back inside.

The arrival of dinner brought everyone into the family room. JD was trying to keep his distance. He didn't want to start answering any of the million or so questions Ezra likely had. After a few minutes, he knew he was being watched and finally surrendered. He turned to see the Ezra leaning in the doorframe, sipping on his iced tea and focusing his intention on their youngest teammate.

"Relax JD. While my curiosity is at an all-time peak, as are dread and trepidation, I am perfectly content to wait until we are settled after dinner for you to unburden yourself."

"I was never trying to keep secrets from you. I wouldn't do that."

"Of course you would. And with only the purest of motivations. Please, relax. Enjoy your dinner." Ezra moved over to a corner seat, seeking to avoid for the attention for the moment. The action had the exact opposite effect.

"You have to eat something Ezra." Vin chided gently.

Nathan immediately went to the mother hen mode. "This grease and meat slab might not be the healthiest option, but you do need to start eating again."

"I eat Nathan. Daily."

"Do you?"

"You've lost – what Ezra – 15 pounds?" Josiah asked.

"Nonsense."

"He's right Josiah." Nathan nodded. "It's more like at least 20."

"I repeat, nonsense. 5 pounds, maybe. 10 at most." It didn't take much effort to realize they didn't believe him. "I do not believe I would be able to handle pizza right now," Ezra sighed in reluctant acceptance of the situation.

"I'll make something else for you." Josiah headed for the kitchen ignoring Ezra's protests. A few minutes later an omelette was placed in front of him, with an unwavering stare that dared him to refuse it. Ezra picked at it slowly, deciding there would be enough contentious issues as the night progressed, and this did not need to be another one.

Conversation was a bit stilted as they all tried to relax through dinner. When Buck returned with beers for all, and Chris growled at Ezra's acceptance, the charade was over.

"Do you really think this is a conversation that can be processed over sarsaparillas?" Ezra asked as he took a bottle from the ice filled pail.

"I think you're going to want to be clear headed Ezra, and I'm also thinking you've reached your limit for the day."

"Is this a restriction you are placing on your agreement to provide me with the answers I need?"

"If it has to be."

They held each other stare long enough for the rest of the team to become decidedly uncomfortable. Josiah was about to call for a truce when Chris back down. "Fine, if you need a drink, have a drink. I'm not your –" he switched his comments in midsentence "– conscience."

"No Chris." Ezra's voice dropped to an almost imperceptible level. "You are not my father. That is the level to which you could never fall."

"Well," he continued, settling back into his seat and leaving the beer unopened on the table in front of him, "shall we get to the evening's entertainment? I suppose my first question should be to ask if any of what you have discovered is sufficient to finally give the powers that be the ammunition they seek to remove me from my position in the ATF?"

Buck looked dumbfounded. "You think that's an issue?"

"That my family would create sufficient conflicts to require me to resign? Definitely."

"I meant that anybody wants you to quit? They may have been stupid enough for that at the FBI Ezra, but we tend to be somewhat smarter bunch here."

"My experience has taught me to expect the worst."

"Not your recent experience." Chris thought about that for a second, then amended it. "Okay, not your recent experience with us."

"Fair enough. Now that that particular issue has been addressed, shall we proceed?" He looked at JD who in turn looked at Chris for approval. On getting it, he swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and began.

 _tbc_

 ** _M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7_**


	3. Chapter 3

"We started by finding out what we could about your father's family –"

"Please JD. Would it be possible to refer to him in some other fashion?"

"Oh, sure. Sorry Ezra. By finding out about Jacob's family." JD checked that this was more acceptable, and getting a nod from Ezra, he continued.

"We know about the one brother, William. Still don't have anything on where he is, but he can't hide forever."

"Which is precisely what worries you all so much." Ezra hazarded a glance at the men surrounding him. It occurred to him that he couldn't remember a time he felt more protected than when he was in the company of these individuals.

"There are two other brothers, and a sister."

"Dammit." Buck spoke without realizing it.

Ezra had lost even more colour from his already pale face, to the point Nathan was ready to check him over. He held up a hand to hold off the intervention. "I am fine. Just a tad surprised. Mother had failed to share that detail. I suppose that should come as no surprise."

Chris felt he needed to intervene. "Well, not that I'm likely to cut her much slack, but it's possible she didn't know about a couple of them. The sister and youngest brother seem to have little or nothing to do with the others. Both have normal jobs, no criminal record, and as far as we can see no contact with your – with Jacob, William, or Simon."

"Just so I can keep try to keep some semblance of order, where does each fit in chronologically."

"William, Jacob, Heather, Simon, then Dennis." JD paused to let Ezra register the information. "Then we get to the next generation."

"A moment, please. I don't need to know about Jacob's past," _don't want to know was closer to the truth_ , "but William and Simon – do they have criminal records?"

Seeing a bit of hesitation on JDs part, Chris reluctantly took the question. "Yeah. We can get you the details if you want them, but the short answer is yes. Fraud, theft, assault – you get the idea." Chris's voice faded off, which was all the tip off Ezra needed.

"And the more serious charges?"

Chris licked his lips, his mouth suddenly feeling quite dry. He stalled by swallowing a large portion of his beer before continuing "Two counts of attempted murder against Simon. A murder charge against William. All dismissed when witnesses recanted."

"Might it be safe to assume the two incidents were related? Cause and effect, as it were."

"Yeah, the attempts were on family members of one of the witnesses." Chris paused.

Vin took one look at the undisguised pain in Ezra's eyes and knew he had to speak up. "You can go ahead and open that beer now Ezra. Nobody here would blame you," he added, glaring at Chris, who merely nodded.

"No. I need to keep focus. Please, proceed to my generation."

JD continued. "William has three kids. Simon four. As far as we can see, they all take part in the family business."

"Well, the family that slays together…" Ezra interrupted him, leaving the young agent a bit at a loss for what to say next.

"Don't shoot the messenger Ezra." Buck got a bit protective. "It ain't JD's fault."

"This isn't about me Buck, I'm fine."

"You are indeed fine JD, but your defender has a valid point. I often find it simpler to deflect the discomfort, with no consideration as to where it lands. My apologies."

"None needed Ezra. Like I said, I'm fine." Buck wasn't though, and he didn't need the heated glares from the others to realize he'd overstepped. Ezra spoke before Buck had a chance.

"This is ridiculous. There is no pleasant way to deal with this. No way to ease into things and clearly no way for me to hear what I need to hear without a significant degree of discomfort. JD, treat this as Nathan would a bandage. Rip the damn thing off and let's be done with it."

"Okay. Like I said. Seven cousins on the less than legal side of the family. No major arrests or convictions, but a slew of minor ones including assaults.

And Trevor wasn't lying when he mentioned siblings. Jacob has – had – other children." He paused. "Six – plus the two you already know about."

The fact no one was rushing to give him aid was the only reason Ezra knew he was still breathing. Six. Six more Standishs out there. At least. He would not have been surprised to find a few more not registered by that name, either due to lack of recognition or more likely in an effort by the mother to keep Jacob ignorant. He thought back to the number of times in his life, especially as a child, he had wished for siblings. What a wonderful example of "be careful what you wish for".

Six siblings. He could barely wrap his mind around the concept. Brothers? Sisters? He hadn't thought to ask. Of course, he hadn't thought to ask anything.

"Ezra? You still with us?" Vin's voice brought him back to the moment. He had no idea how long he had zoned out for, but since none of the others look looked especially panicked, it couldn't have been too bad.

"Eight. Jacob fathered eight children."

"Nine." JD corrected gently. "You forgot to include yourself Ezra."

"You said six, plus the two I was aware of. Trevor and myself."

"I meant two brothers you were aware of."

Ezra rarely looked confused, but at the moment he was far beyond that point. "I am not aware of any other brother JD."

"Well, I know that your full brother died when he was just a couple years old Ezra, and you were only about five, but he was –"

"Stop JD." Buck ordered.

Vin had moved quickly to squat beside Ezra. "You didn't know?"

"Mother had another – I had a brother? How could I not have known? How could she not have said – no. This makes no sense."

"Steady Ezra."

"No! I'm sorry JD but clearly, you've made a mistake. I don't blame you. No doubt this is all is complex and convoluted as one could imagine, and mother has always been an expert at obscuring and manipulating circumstances and situations to her advantage. I am certain this is just another example of that."

JD said nothing, but reached into the file folder he'd brought, pulling out both birth and death certificates. "They could be fabricated." Ezra said with weakening conviction. After a moment's hesitation, JD added two photos from the file, one of her holding an infant, and the other a similar shot but including Jacob.

Ezra felt the life drain out of him. All of the possibilities he prepared himself for, this one had never crossed his mind. He stared at the photos, not seeing anything or anyone else in the room. When he finally found his voice again he knew only that he needed to blame someone for something and he couldn't bring himself to care who the target was. "Family photos Mr. Dunne? Are there no limits on what you will dig into? No privacy you won't violate?"

Buck lost his cool again. "Knock it off Ezra. You wanted to know what he found out.

Ezra ignored him, picking up the offending items and flinging them back at JD. "Perhaps you'd like to find mother's diaries and scrounge through them for more juicy details."

"Back off. It's not his fault your family is fucked up."

Ezra froze at the comment, and the room went silent. "Ah Shit Ezra. I didn't mean that. I just. Oh shit, no. Don't go." Buck reached out to try to stop him, but Ezra dodged his grasp. He likewise avoided Vin and Chris and was gone from the room before anyone else could speak.

Buck look around for a hole to crawl into. He braced himself for Chris's wrath, but was stunned to get both barrels from JD instead.

"What the hell is the matter with you?"

"He shouldn't have –" Buck faded off, knowing there was really no excuse.

"Shouldn't have what Buck? Shouldn't have asked? Shouldn't have been surprised? Shouldn't have reacted the only way a sane man would? You think I didn't know this was coming? That something like this was going to happen?"

"But what he said…"

"I'm a big boy Buck. I can take a bit of deflected anger. That wasn't even as bad as I'd expected. Kinda figured he'd hit me."

"Ezra doesn't hit." Josiah said quietly.

"Well, he should." Buck's voice was shaking with emotion. "He should knock me into next month, and then keep going."

"No argument here." JD replied.

"Worst thing about all this is when he calms down, he's gonna be mad at himself for making you mad." Vin added.

"Yeah, I know. What I don't know is what to do about it?" Buck looked for help.

"You do nothing Mr. Wilmington." Ezra was back in the doorway.

"Shit Ezra. I'm such a –"

"Please. Don't. It wasn't a shining moment for either one of us. You at least had a noble motivation of defending a friend. I, on the other hand, was making a futile attempt to defend the honour of the family that clearly is not worthy of the effort. Mr. Dunne –"

"So help me Ezra, if you try to apologize I'll – I'll –" he was at a loss for an appropriate threat.

"While you make the effort to come up with an undoubtedly intimidating and convincing threat, might I suggest we proceed with the unveiling."

"I think you've had enough for one day Ezra." Chris interjected.

"No, I haven't. I need this over Mr. Larabee. I cannot imagine any revelations that would be more momentous than what has transpired, but I am sure given a sleepless night my brain would develop such scenarios. However unpleasant the truth may be, it needs to be exposed."

"I don't think anything else is gonna be quite so upsetting Ezra." JD hoped this was right. Chris looked to all the others, all of whom reluctantly took their seats again. He gave a much longer stare to Buck, who quietly moved himself off to a corner, determined to sit with his mouth shut if it killed him.

"I'll keep going Ezra but there's a condition." JD focused on him. "No more calling us mister. You go back to first names, or I'm done for the night."

Ezra seemed surprise. "I wasn't even aware." He paused. "If you don't mind, JD, I'd like the details concerning –" Ezra took a quick breath – "my brother."

"His name was Ethan. He died when he was about just short of 20 months old. There was nothing suspicious about it Ezra. Routine autopsy showed there was some kind of heart problem. Nathan could probably explain this better than I can." He started to hand some papers over, but Ezra shook his head.

"No, if there was nothing suspicious then I do not need the details." He looked down at the birth certificate. "I was with family at the time. Mother had sent me away. I presume she felt unable to handle a child and a baby at the same time."

"Yeah, not like millions of other women don't do that all the time." Chris grumbled, surprised when he realized he'd spoken out loud.

"Maybe you should sit in the corner with Buck." Vin's tone was joking, but the look he shot a Chris wasn't.

"Sorry Ezra – not my place."

"Gentlemen, it is second nature for you all to express your displeasure with my mother. I accept that your motives are pure in doing so, so please stop apologizing. JD – continue." Before anything was said, Josiah interrupted.

"JD, is there anything we need to know right away? Any of Jacob's kids pose any kind of threat to Ezra, or the hearing, or anything else we need to know about?"

"There's a couple that we've notified the San Francisco cops to be watching for. Calvin and Mark. They might show up at trial. Far as we can tell, most of them have even less contact with Jacob than you have Ezra. Couple of them don't even seem to be aware of him."

"How fortunate for them."

"You got photos?" Chris asked. JD reached into the folder again, passing around the sheets. "Most recent we can get. They're pretty current."

"Damn." Vin clutched one of the shots. "Nathan?" He handed the sheet over, aware every eye now riveted on him.

Nathan looked at the shot and cursed softly himself. "Yeah, that's Dylan." He looked around quickly before focusing his attention on Ezra. "He's a new youth volunteer at the community centre. If I remember correctly, his resume said he's getting a degree in social services."

JD searched his notes. "That matches up." He hesitated for a moment. "So how do you guys feel about coincidence?"

"Skeptical." Chris answered. "Find out everything you can about it JD. Have either of you to talk to him?"

"Just briefly, routine centre stuff. Nothing personal." Vin answered first.

"I talked to him a bit about his reasons for being there. Trying to find out how he'll fit in. That's why I knew about his studies."

"As much as we are loath to accept the possibility, there is a strong likelihood this is mere chance." Ezra was looking at the folder. "There is no indication that he is ever had any direct involvement with Jacob, even that they ever met."

"Timing is curious." Josiah observed.

"True, but inconclusive. As we know, it is not beyond realistic consideration to presume young Mr. Dylan Standish is blissfully unaware of the extent and nature of his family relations." Ezra could sense another round of sympathetic support and didn't really want to try to cope with that right now.

"Goes by the last name Pearce. Mother's name."

Ezra felt a strange pinch of regret to hear that. "Vin, what situation can you create to provide an excuse to meet with Mr. Pearce to try to determine what, if any, ulterior motives he might have?"

Vin looked to Nathan, who smiled broadly. "Working on a Big Brother program. That'll give us the perfect chance to talk about father figures. Should start the ball rolling."

"Okay, that's one thing off the list." Chris reached out and took the folder from JD, passing it toward Ezra.

"I don't think anything else in here is going to be too much of a shock. A surprise maybe, but not a shock." Ezra took it from him without opening it. "You don't have to look at it now. Or ever for that matter."

"No. I do need to review it. Only a fool fails to gain as much knowledge as is possible. May I take this with me?"

Buck moved out from his corner. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Home." He raised a hand to defend off the comments he knew would be forthcoming. "I have not been drinking – I assure you I can drive."

"Just thought you might want someone around while you sort through all of this." Josiah commented.

"I appreciate the sentiment, and the concern, but I think I would be better able to process all of this on my own."

Chris reluctantly agreed with the assessment. "You do what you have to Ezra. But you call us if you have any problems. Any questions at all about your family."

"My family," he said with conviction, "is right here in this room."

No one spoke as they watched him leave.

 _tbc_

 ** _M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7_**


	4. Chapter 4

"You have any idea how would a question this guy without making it sound like an interrogation?" Nathan asked as he and Vin waited for Dylan to arrive for the hastily called meeting the next day.

"Don't need to. He's talking about getting involved in Big Brother which means we get to make sure he's appropriate."

"Yeah, but don't you think something along the lines of "are you aware of the fact that your father was a criminal and that your half-brother is on trial for murder" might make him a bit suspicious, or at least curious?"

"Not given the fact I'm aware of the kind of man my father is." The reply came from the doorway, where Dylan now stood stock still. "You really should close this if you planning to be covert about things."

Vin was on his feet. "Damn. Sorry Dylan. Really wasn't the way I planned for this to go."

"No, it's alright. I can't say I'm especially surprised, even though I'd hoped to keep my family legacy a secret."

"Why would that be?" Nathan asked. Dylan looked surprise.

"Seriously? You can ask that. Not exactly the character reference one puts down when they're hoping to work in a social-services setting. Or to be a Big Brother. I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

"Hold on. Nobody asked you to leave."

"You will."

Vin shrugged. "Maybe, but for now, sit down. Let's talk."

Dylan rubbed his hand over his face for a moment, then studied the men closely. Vin knew they were being sized up and it felt eerily similar to the way Ezra had watched them when he first joined the team. Apparently, they passed whatever test he was applying, as he stepped in and closed the door.

"First off, we aren't necessarily going to write you off based on your family. That's not a group of people you get to choose."

"As a rule." Vin added to Nathan's opening comment.

"But is not going to help me."

"How strong a connection do you have with them?"

"Virtually none on my father's side. He abandoned my mom when I was a baby. Not even a year old."

"But you know about him?"

"Mom was in a bad place at that point. When I came along, she cleaned up her act. Back to school, reconnected with her family. She tried to get him to change to, but he left instead. Good riddance."

"So you know nothing about him, or his family?" Dylan hesitated a moment but realized there was nothing to be gained by holding out.

"I know his name. Never tried to find him. And yes, I saw there is a guy named Standish on trial on the West Coast. I wondered if he was connected, but really didn't want to know. Not giving the matter much attention."

Vin watched him closely as he asked the next question. "I take it from the way you are referring to him that you don't know Jacob Standish is dead."

Dylan spun his head to look straight at him. "Are you sure?"

Well that wasn't the response he'd expected. "Yes. Saw it happen myself."

"Well, mom will be relieved to hear that."

"You aren't interested in the details?"

"Don't need them."

"Not even after a worker at a community centre just admitted to being a witness to your father being killed?" Vin asked, his bullshit radar on high alert.

Dylan blanched. "Oh, guess I should've caught that. Fine – full story. Everything I've said is true, but I haven't told you everything."

Well – Vin thought – he has Ezra's way of turning a sentence around to suit his needs.

"I have done a bit of digging through the Standish family tree. Never made contact with any of them. Didn't really want to. Just needed to know if there were any of them who weren't rotten."

"You needed to know what role genetics played?" Nathan asked.

"Something like that. Was relieved to see most – well some anyway – were decent folks. Then I found that we actually had some on the other side of the law. There's a cousin, or cousin once removed - not good at the terminology - anyway, family who's a cop in New York. And then I found another who's an FBI agent no less. I admit, that made me curious. Eventually, I learned he switched over to ATF and came here. So I decided I could attend University of Colorado just as easy as any other."

"How'd you find us here?" Vin wondered.

"Well that was just dumb luck. I got the name of some of his coworkers –"

"How?" Nathan was immediately concerned about that.

"All I'm gonna say is I have a few friends who are good at finding things out. Don't ask. I won't turn on them."

 _He's loyal_ , Vin thought, seeing more of Ezra in Dylan with each revelation.

"Anyway, I really did want to get involved with the community, and with Big Brothers. That wasn't a con, not that I expect you to believe me now. I know what it's like without a father figure around, and I thought I could do something. You have no idea how stunned I was when I saw your name on the roster of workers here. I figured it was some kind of sign."

"How come you haven't tried to contact Ezra?"

"The truth? It scares the hell out of me. First real contact with the Standish. What if I was making a mistake? What if this all blew up on me? I've been working up the nerve."

"You've been here over 3 months."

"What can I say, I'm a slow worker."

"Okay." Vin pushed back from the desk and stood. "Thanks for coming by." The young man stood, trying not to show his dejection. "We'll have to check out a few things, but at this point, I've got to say I think you'll be an asset to the program."

Dylan was putting a hand out to shake Nathan's and froze in place, transferring his gaze.

"Seriously?"

"Absolutely."

"Even knowing all of this, including the less than honest way I've been with you."

"You had your reasons, and believe me, we understand the circumstances." Nathan explained.

He decided to push his luck. "What about the rest of it?"

Vin wasn't sure how to answer that one. "Won't lie to you. I need to talk to some people about that too before we can make any decisions. What I can say for now is that this probably isn't a good time for you to meet up with Ezra. For a lot of reasons, your own safety being one of them. I will tell him about you, and if we can work it out, will then we'll see."

Dylan smiled, and again Vin saw some of Ezra in that look. "You're watching out for him. I'm thinking he's lucky to have you guys for friends."

"That goes both ways."

Dylan nodded his understanding. "You know where to find me." He hesitated. "Look, if he decides he doesn't want anything to do with me, I'll understand. But would you ask him if maybe I can talk to you guys about him. I think after talking to you, he's someone I really do want to get to know."

Vin understood. "All we can do is ask, but I will pass it along. I think it would be good for him, but it's kind of hard to convince him of things when he gets his mind set."

"Sounds like that is a family trait." Dylan responded. "No matter how this plays out, thanks for everything." He pulled the door closed as he left.

"What do you think?" Nathan asked when he was sure they were sure he was gone.

"Everything says he's legit, and I sure as hell hope so. Not sold yet, but my gut is wanting me to accept this."

"Your gut, or what you want for Ezra?"

Vin shrugged, unsure of the answer himself.

"And what do we tell Ezra?" Nathan continued.

"Everything. He doesn't need anyone else holding out on him. We may have to rein him back, but we absolutely have to be straight with him."

7-7-7-7-7-7-7

Three relatively quiet days had passed since the night at the ranch. Work wasn't proving to be the distraction they needed as their pending case was suspended when the IRS, of all people, moved in and arrested the target. That left them with nothing major on the horizon, allowing them to unofficially continue the investigation on the Standish clan. Ezra tried to help out, but halfway through the second day he had to excuse himself from the office. It was getting to be too hard to pretend that none of the revelations mattered to him. He'd spent the time at Inez's, and before leaving asked her to confirm to Chris he'd had only two drinks during his time there.

"I take it he told you I called him?" She did not sound the least bit apologetic about it.

"Yes, he did. And as I believe I have failed to mention anything on the matter, allow me to offer my deepest appreciation for your concern, unwarranted and unearned as it might be."

Her gaze softened somewhat. "I have a tendency to be concerned about people I care for. I'll let Chris know you're alright for today. I don't expect to see you here alone again tomorrow."

He called in on the third day, letting them know he was going to spend some time on his own and promising them that did not mean anything they would fail to approve of. He got texts within minutes from each of his teammates, all offering to spend the day as companion, sounding board, chauffeur or whatever other service was needed. He gave them all a firm, but appreciative, 'no thank you' response, and reassured them he would check in at the end of the day. Despite what he had envisioned for himself, he ended up staying home, trying to distract himself with television, reading and cleaning. He had little success. It was only after a single visitor had come and gone with a delivery that he decided he needed to head over to the office to share his news. He arrived at the same time most people were leaving for the day and made his way up to his team.

"What the hell do you mean you've been subpoenaed?"

"I would think the statement was self-evident. I assure you, it was not at my suggestion."

Chris eyed Ezra for a moment, not entirely convinced of that claim. "Why would the defence want you there? It makes no sense."

"They have no doubt concocted some justification for the play. My take is that they have one of three motives. The first would be to throw all of you off your game. They might be hoping that this will disorient and discombobulated you to the point of affecting your testimony. Obviously, they underestimate you."

"Thanks. What else have you got?"

"It seems highly likely, as DA Keller proposed before, that they intend to put me on trial in the minds of the jury. If I can be connected in anyway to this, then a reasonable doubt verdict would be inevitable."

Josiah had immediately assumed this was the likely reason for the action, and it worried him. The questions would be difficult for Ezra to deal with. He had no doubt the testimony would be calm and composed, but the days after of far greater concern. When it came to family, and self doubt, it didn't take much right now to send Ezra into a tailspin.

Chris had the same concerns but didn't think this was the time to discuss them. "You said three?"

"This last is one you will not like."

Chris snorted. "Hell, I don't like any of this."

"I would suspect William is behind this."

"Why?" JD asked, an instant before it fell into place. "Shit, he wants you out in the open, doesn't he?"

"I believe he may be contemplating vengeance. San Francisco as his turf, not mine. That gives him home field advantage, as it were."

"We'll get the DA to challenge the subpoena." Vin suggested.

"Why? They will find another avenue. At least with this route, we are on our guard."

"Like I said, I don't like this." Chris voiced.

"I did warn you of the possibility. There is no reason for concern. I will accompany all of you next week to San Francisco and in a few short days this will all be over."

He turned to leave and was surprised to see Chris fall into step with him.

"I do not need a body guard."

"With everything going on I doubt that, but I have better things to do with my time. Didn't occur to you that maybe I was leaving now anyway?"

Ezra grinned, not believing him for a moment.

He and Chris headed from the building. There were still quite a few cars in the lot; the office never shut down. But things had quieted for the moment as the two law men headed toward their vehicles.

"How is Chaucer fairing?"

"Misses you. No one else spoils him like you do."

"I would not have been the best of company in recent days."

"I doubt he'd care. None of us do Ezra."

"Yes. I have neglected my two-legged friends as well." Chris stopped walking, taking Ezra's arm and spinning him gently.

"You don't need to be putting on your damn game face around us Ezra. You need to take the time to get through all of this, and we get that. We just want to know that you'll talk to us, any of us, when you need to."

Ezra smiled. "Where else would I possibly go?" Chris was about to answer with a list of worrisome possibilities when the timed lights of the parking lot came on. One created a reflection from a car a few rows away. Instinct as much as observation told him what that reflection was, and he grabbed Ezra and threw him to the ground as the gunfire began. Ezra had the wind knocked out of him by the force with which he landed, and by the time he could move again the car had sped out, and security was rushing from the building.

"That was a most fortuitous observation Chris." he gasped out, still catching his breath. "Chris?" Panic set in when there was no response. He scrambled over to where Chris lay face down on the pavement, and cautiously rolled him. "Oh, dear God!" He looked up at the security officers running towards them. "911. Call 911."

 _tbc_

 ** _M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7_**


	5. Chapter 5

Buck and Nathan were the last to arrive at the emergency room, having reluctantly stayed at the shooting scene to brief the team assigned to the case. Both now were headed straight over to Ezra when Josiah blocked them.

"Don't. Leave him be. He can't handle you right now."

"He can't handle much more of anything right now." Vin commented quietly. He looked at Nathan. "What did you guys figure out from the scene?"

"Not a hell of a lot. According to security and based on the shell casings in the lot, someone was shooting at them from a car."

"Kinda figured that out from the bullet in Chris." JD snapped back.

Nathan ignored the comment, knowing the motivation, but Vin wasn't about to let it pass. "Whoa kid. Settle down. We're all a little stressed out here."

JD clenched and unclenched his fists several times, trying to settle himself. "Sorry guys. It's just, I feel so damned useless."

He was relieved to get a supportive smile from Nathan. "We get it. Anyway, Chris must have been in the position to see it coming and was able to push him down and out of the line of fire."

"And then took the bullets intended for me." Ezra had moved close enough to hear, even though he knew what was going to be said.

"You don't know that." Vin countered, taking a cautious step closer before Ezra moved away again. It was like trying to approach a wounded animal.

"Yes, I do. I have no doubt, and no doubt who was behind it."

"William." Nathan made it a statement rather than a question.

"Assuredly."

Buck calmed himself enough to get into the discussion. "How can you be certain?"

"It is the only thing that makes sense."

"We've all got enemies Ezra. You can't –"

Ezra lost what little self-control he'd held in reserve. "I know Buck!" he shouted back. "I fucking well know, all right? He's been phoning, emailing, stalking me. He's behind all of this."

They all starred. Vin was first to find his voice. "What?"

"Chris knew, but we didn't want the rest of you to worry more than was necessary. No, make that I didn't want you to worry. Chris will pay the price for my pride and arrogance. Someone else is always paying that price."

"But, that's nuts. William is still out west." JD offered, with no conviction in his voice.

"We don't know that." Buck admitted. "And he doesn't have to be here to be the guy calling the shots - so to speak."

Josiah was more focused on Ezra's state of mind at this point. He knew the younger man was going to drown in his overwhelming guilt and self recrimination. "You should have told us what was going on Ezra. You don't have to take this all on yourself. We would've been doing things differently."

"Yes, you all would have put yourselves in the line of fire to protect me from my loving family. That would make be feel so much better. It would make everything so much better."

Vin couldn't recall a time he'd seen Ezra this lost, this devastated. "We could have figured this out Ezra. Together - the way we are supposed to work."

"And Chris would not be hurt, possibly dying, on my account."

"Well, the first thing wrong with that sentence is that he's not dying." Buck grinned widely.

"How can you possibly know that?"

"Because the doctor is coming towards us with a smile."

A few minutes later they had all been reassured that the wound was less severe than it looked, and barring any unforeseen complications, after a 48-hour observation period, Chris would most likely be released.

"You can see him, but just for a couple of minutes."

They surged forward as one, but Vin stopped abruptly when he noted Ezra hadn't budged.

"He's going to want to see you most of all Pard. You know he's gonna need to make sure you're OK."

"You will have to reassure him of that. I cannot go in there."

"That was the second thing wrong with what you said before. This isn't your fault. None of it is."

"Please Vin, save your breath and your platitudes. They were trying to kill me. My family, my blood kin was trying to kill me, and damn near got Chris instead. You cannot begin to devise a scenario where that is not my fault."

"We aren't devising anything. Facts are facts. This is their fault, not yours, and you know that. Chris sure as hell is not gonna blame you. None of us do."

"Perhaps you should reconsider that stance. It is entirely possible, no, probable, that your very lives depend upon it. I cannot allow that." Ezra turned and walked away, wrenching his arm free when Vin tried to stop him. He debated for a moment about actually tackling the man, but knew he'd find just find another way to run.

"You better answer when I call later Ezra. You hear me?"

Josiah stood waiting at the elevator. "The others went ahead. Try not to worry so much Vin. We'll check in on him later."

"And say what exactly? You heard him. You know as well as any of us what he's like when all this kind of shit comes down on him. Can you tell me you know of a way to fix any of this?"

"It won't much matter what we say, he won't hear us right now. No matter how loudly we speak, or what kind of logic we present, he isn't ready to listen. But that doesn't mean we go away."

"We keep pushing - right?"

"Do you think for a moment he would give up on any of us if things were different? He needs us to not give up on him. He just doesn't know that - yet."

7-7-7-7-7-7-7

"You let him leave?" Chris looked like he was going to leap from the bed. The fatigue that had him almost out of it a moment earlier was gone in the adrenaline rush that overtook him. "Do you have any idea how much trouble he can get into?"

"Stay still damn it. Yes, he left. Not sure as I can say I let him as much as I couldn't stop him. As for the trouble... we've got to ATF teams watching his place and the neighbourhood. And following him, once we can find his car. Travis called them in. And Josiah and I will head over in a bit."

"Damn fool."

"You, or him?" Buck asked. Chris glared, but it wasn't enough to stop him. "Why didn't you tell us about the threats?"

"Didn't think we needed to. Ezra was uncomfortable enough about all of this."

"Not a good enough reason Chris. Since when do you let him make that kind of a decision?"

"Since his world went to hell in a handcart and he lost any semblance of control he had. He needed to be able to have a say in something. Have something go the way he wanted it to."

"You picked one jackass stupid time to let him run the show."

"Watch yourself Buck. I may be on my back now, but I'm still your boss."

JD tried to intervene and allow tempers to cool. "It's just - we could've lost both of you Chris."

"I know. It seemed like –"

"Enough. Don't worry about it now." Nathan intervened, not wanting the patient getting more upset. "Can we just focus on what to do going forward, since we can't do much else. Only thing you need to think about Chris is getting better. We can handle the rest."

"You can handle Ezra?" Chris said, skepticism evident.

"As well as anyone can."

Chris rested his head back closing his eyes. "That is not encouraging." The fight had taken more out of him than he wanted to admit. Especially since he knew they were right. "OK, what do we do next?"

"You do nothing." Buck's anger disappeared when he saw how drained Chris looked. He would never get used to seeing any of his friends in the hospital, but his history with Chris made things just that much harder to accept. "We go this. You need to just focus on getting better."

"I'm fine. Doctor said so."

"No, he said you will be, if there are no complications. And resting is the best way to make sure of that, so lie back, shut up, and sleep."

"Didn't I say something about insubordination?" Chris mumbled as he allowed himself to relax a bit. "Still, maybe just a few minutes sleep." He slurred out, dozing off. The men watched him for a moment before quietly relocating outside. Buck waited until he had their attention to speak. "Okay, I'm gonna stay here in case he needs anything. Who's gonna check on Ezra? No, you can't all go."

Vin won out. "I told him I'd call. I don't think he'll take too well to being overrun."

"Do you figure he went home?"

"Not sure." He checked his phone. "A couple of guys from Team 9 spotted him. They're following him. Hang on a second." Vin texted one of the men. "No. Steve says he went to the ranch. At this time of night? That's weird."

"I don't know. Chaucer can settle him better than any of us could." JD noted.

"Yeah, but still…" Vin was puzzled.

"Maybe it's how he feels he can connect with Chris." Josiah offered. "I say the two of us head out. By the time we get there, he will have had some time to settle down. Assuming he stays put."

"Fine, the rest of you go home but be in the office early. We are gonna find this bastard and get him out of Ezra's life once and for all.

7-7-7-7-7-7-7

Vin pulled up behind the car parked on the road in front of the ranch and walked up to the ATF agents who had been keeping an eye on Ezra. He leaned on the car and spoke with the driver.

"Hey Steve. Take it you guys didn't get invited to go riding with him?" Vin asked with a grin.

"We haven't seen him head out anywhere. Went around back, but that was it."

"It's been quiet the whole time?"

"Not a sign of life."

Vin looked up the driveway and had to agree. There wasn't a sign of life. No lights anywhere in the house. The stable wasn't visible from the front, but there was no glow of light from there either. The full moon meant that it wasn't pitch dark, but it was late enough. He absentmindedly waved at the agents before jumping back into the truck and speeding up the lane.

"What?" was all Josiah would ask.

"It's too quiet up there. Doesn't feel right."

"He may just be sitting in the dark." Josiah suggested with little conviction.

Vin pulled up next to the only car outside and jumped out, wasting no time. "Ezra?" he shouted out. There was no response. They headed quickly toward the stables. "This is no time to play around. Where are you?"

They reached the building and looked around. All of the horses were in their stalls. There was no sign of anyone else, but something had been going on. Tack and supplies that hung on the walls of Chaucer's stall were scattered on the ground, and the straw bedding materials had been flung around. Given that the animal had the same fastidious nature as his owner, it was definitely unnatural. More to the point, Chaucer was pawing at the ground, butting against the stall door and generally putting on an agitated performance.

"We get it boy. Somethings off. I'll check the house." Vin called as he began to run. He didn't expect to find him there but refused to overlook the obvious. He could be inside and hurt. Or worse. He didn't want to dwell on that idea. "You look around the area."

Josiah grabbed a high-powered flash from the supply cabinet and headed out. He had no idea where to start. Ezra could be anywhere on the ranch. Even more disturbing was the thought he was nowhere on the ranch.

Josiah slowed as he neared the storage garage at the far end of the yard. The door was down, but he was certain as he got close enough he could hear something running inside. He charged toward the side door, surprised to find it locked.

"Vin can you see into the garage?" Vin was nearing the patio door but redirected his route. He looked to the window at the back of the structure. "Shit. Shit!" He reached down and grabbed a rock, tossing it through the glass. Using his jacket to clear the shards still in the frame, he jumped up and crawled through, taking just a few seconds to clear the boxes that blocked the side entrance and unlock it. He moved quickly to then yank open the door of Chris's battered pick-up, catching an unmoving Ezra as he toppled out toward the ground.

 _tbc_

 ** _M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7_**


	6. Chapter 6

Both men were starting to cough as Josiah moved in at immediately grabbed Ezra up to carry him into the clear.

"He breathing?" Vin gasped as he got his own breath back. He got his answer when Josiah began mouth to mouth. Vin fired a couple of shots into the air, knowing it would bring the watchers to their aid faster than a call could. "Get an ambulance" he wheezed when they arrived. Vin wanted to say more to them but saved his anger for another time, focusing his attention on Josiah and Ezra. There was a soft moan and a twitch from Ezra a moment later.

"Ezra, can you hear me son?" Josiah forgot his promise, caught up in the concern of the moment. "Ezra, wake up." There was no further sign of consciousness, but they could see the shallow rise and fall of his chest.

"Do we put him in our car or wait?" Steve asked.

"Wait. They should be here fast, and they'll have oxygen for him."

"I don't get it." Steve muttered. "I never would have expected Standish would do something like this."

Josiah growled deep in his chest, but both he and Vin said nothing, continuing to watch Ezra. The other two self-consciously stepped away to give them their privacy. Vin knelt again beside Ezra and spoke softly. "We are not letting them check him in as an attempted suicide Josiah. It'll be on his record, no matter what happens after and I ain't doing that to him."

"Vin, if there's an issue…"

"He didn't do this Josiah. He wouldn't."

Josiah shook his head. "I want to believe that. But…"

"No way. IF, and it's a huge if, he wanted to, Ezra would never do it like this. He's too damned cunning to let himself be found in time. And more important, he'd know what this would do to Chris. He wouldn't kill himself in Chris's garage with his own truck. No way."

There was no disputing that fact. "No. He wouldn't. You're right. Hell, he wouldn't do this to any of us."

"Boxes were piled up to block the door, and the main door is never locked. I didn't even know it could be."

Josiah looked down again, brushing the hair back from Ezra's forehead, more in a need to keep contact than for any real purpose. "And the stables are a mess. Chaucer is spooked. Doesn't add up to suicide, does it?"

"From now on, one of us stays with him. 24/7. No matter what he says about it."

Josiah stood and walked over to the others. "What happened? How did someone else get in here?"

"You telling us you think someone tried to kill him? Trying to put the blame on someone else?"

"Ezra doesn't run. Maybe in the past, but not anymore. And I don't give a rat's ass about blame right now. I want to know who did this. I want to get the bastard."

Steve was about to say more when they heard the ambulance in the distance. Their attention was drawn away again when Ezra let out another quiet moan but gave no sign of wakening.

The arrival of the ambulance silenced any chance of further discussion. The explanation of an attempt on Ezra's life wasn't challenged by anyone; this wasn't the first time the medics had been called out to the address.

Vin and Josiah waited anxiously while Ezra was prepared for transit. Vin was holding off an a call he did not want to make. He needed to have good news when he updated Chris on this latest turn of events. It would be the only thing that would make the call a bit easier.

"Could be a lot worse. His vitals are pretty good under the circumstances. His pulse-ox is a bit low, but not close to critical. He may well be out because of the crack to the head as much as anything else."

"What crack?" Vin demanded.

"Felt it when I put the mask on him. Not bleeding, but he has a hell of a bump there already." The medic reached for his radio to call in.

Josiah reached out to stop him. "Can you do us a favour fellas? Don't transmit that info yet. We don't want the people after him clued in if we can avoid it, and right now we have no idea how connected they might be."

"We have to report were bringing him in, but that's all."

Vin looked questioningly at Josiah. "No point in sharing more than we need to at this point. But you best call Chris. Hospital grapevines are even faster than the ones at the office, and if he hears this second hand…"

Vin nodded. "He'll kill us, if the shock doesn't kill him first."

7-7-7-7-7-7-7

Chris sat quietly next to Ezra's bed. He hated the damned wheelchair, but it was the concession he made to be allowed to out of his own room. He also wasn't impressed by the fact Nathan was watching him like a hawk to make sure he stayed put. Even just twitching in the chair brought words of warning.

It was worth it. He had to be the one here when Ezra woke up. There was no way any of them were going to let him be alone at that moment, but Chris knew the man was going to need more. The absolute assurance that none of them thought for a second this was anything other than attempted murder. And the state he'd been in lately, with all the fears and doubts, Ezra was going to need to hear that from the man in charge.

"You're beat Chris." Nathan broke into his thoughts.

"I'm fine. He needs to know I'm okay, and that he is too. And most importantly, that we are."

"You make yourself sick and he'll be mighty pissed off with you."

"Then we won't mention that little detail to him."

"Keeping secrets is what was ultimately responsible for this debacle Chris. One would have hoped you had learned from that." Ezra coughed as his raw throat barely let him finish.

"Hush Ezra. Talking shouldn't be on your list of things to do." Nathan advised, appearing at his side with some much-appreciated ice chips. The smile he got as thanks was a sweet sight. "I'll let you two deal with all this. Chris, stay in the chair, and try to keep him relatively quiet." he reminded unnecessarily as he headed out.

"I cannot begin –"

"Don't Ezra. You aren't supposed to be talking. Just rest and try to breathe easy." Ezra settled back onto the pillow but didn't look like he was ready to rest. "First off – yes I am fine. And no way in hell what happened to me is your fault. Not even gonna a debate that one with you."

Ezra nodded, but he was too tired to succeed in hiding the fact he disagreed with the assessment. Chris sighed quietly. "Fine, we'll table that subject for another discussion. Ezra, did you see who did this to you?"

Ezra looked at him with surprise. "Did this?"

"What? You didn't think we'd figure out this wasn't your idea. Dammit Ezra, you think that little of us that we'd give up on you like that?" He'd always believed in a good offense for his defence.

"Of course not. It's just…" He paused, catching on. "Thank you."

Chris reached a hand up to give Ezra's arm a light squeeze. "Any time. So, you see anything?"

"Sadly, no. Chaucer would be the only witness as I was grooming him at the time." He hesitated but wasn't given a chance to ask.

"Not a mark on him. Stall was busted up some apparently. Vin said it looked like he was trying to kick his way out to help you. But he's fine Ezra."

"These were two very different methods to terminate my life, wouldn't you agree?" He coughed again, and Chris served him out more ice.

"You figure two different men? That would be one hell of a coincidence."

"Or a contract." Vin offered as he entered. "How do you feel Ezra?"

"Obliged to you and Josiah for your timely intervention." Vin looked a bit surprised. "Am I mistaken in my vague recollection of you two gentlemen coaxing me back to this world."

"Had as much to do with Chris's poor maintenance of the garage as anything else." Vin replied. It got the response he expected.

"That garage is perfectly maintained." Chris growled back.

"Wood around the windows is half rotted. Same for the doors. The main door doesn't seal tight either, and the roof needs a bit of repair too. All of which meant the place was less than airtight, meaning the exhaust didn't build up as much as it should have."

Chris had never been so grateful that he hadn't had time to get to those repairs.

"Nevertheless, I am indebted to you on this."

"No debt Ezra. Just glad it worked out."

"You said something about a contract? What did you guys find out?" Chris asked, growing increasing frustrated by his limited role in all of this.

"Nothing for certain. It doesn't seem too professional though. Things were badly staged at the ranch, and that shooter was close enough to take out both of you, but didn't."

Chris grimaced at the image, and the reality. "They may be amateur, but they are coming too damned close for my liking."

Vin had the same opinion. "None of our usual informants have heard anything, but we all agreed there's something going on."

Ezra lay quietly for a few minutes to the point they were beginning to worry about what he was thinking. He had a unique gift for shifting blame on to himself, especially when it wasn't deserved.

"It occurs to me," they both jumped slightly at the sudden break in silence, "that it would have been best for all concerned if this recent effort had been successful."

Son of a bitch. Chris knew Ezra was haunted by everything in the past few months, but this was not what he wanted to hear. He was even more stunned by Vin's response. "Josiah and me were thinking the same thing."

"What the hell Vin?" He looked up and froze at the sly grin the sharpshooter was giving him. He spun back to see a similar look on Ezra's face. Then he caught on.

"Oh. Right. Sorry – guess the pain pills are slowing me down some." He held up a hand and sent a glare that silenced both of them before a comment could be offered. He supposed he should be grateful Buck hadn't been around to hear that. "So, do you think we should put word out that you're dead, or just in a coma?"

"The latter would be my preference, for a few reasons. The thought of telling people I died seems a bit too much like tempting fate, given the way my luck has been running of late. And, if I am still alive, they will try again."

"The team has to know. Not putting them through that." Vin added.

"Agreed. Besides, I imagine Chris will insist that they keep an eye on things, so they will need to know anyway."

"How long do you figure to keep this charade going?"

Chris answered that one. "As long as we need to, but I'm guessing Ezra's right and whoever did this will want to finish the job as fast as possible."

"By all means, let us afford them every opportunity."

 _tbc_

 ** _M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7_**


	7. Chapter 7

JD squirmed in his seat as he listened to the local news that evening. The story that a local law enforcement officer remained hospitalized in critical condition was unnerving, even though he knew Ezra was perfectly fine. The reporter repeated that no names were being released at this time pending notification of family, and details were being withheld. Still, JD knew the people responsible would know Ezra had survived and would likely be making another attempt. He was determined to do his bit in making sure the effort failed, and was keeping an eagle eye on the half dozen security monitors tracking anyone who got even close to Ezra's room.

The brief brainstorming session they'd had to set up this operation resulted in no definitive answers, but a few pretty strong hunches being voiced. They all reluctantly agreed that Ezra was right when he said from the beginning that it had to be William. Nothing else made sense at this time. And they all agreed this was definitely a contract of some kind, but why would more than one would-be killer taking up the challenge?

What they found most confusing was how amateurish the actions had been. The parking lot shooting was foolhardy, and the perps had been damned lucky to get away. If Chris and Ezra had left a few minutes earlier, there would have been other agents on hand, and a clean getaway would have been unlikely. Likewise, the phony suicide was poorly thought out. Even though someone did manage to get past the agents on watch, the job was botched. The fact there was a sizable bump on the back of Ezra's head from being knocked out would have dispelled any finding of suicide, not that the fact was of any comfort to the team.

Amateurs made situations like this one much harder to deal with. Pros had their own code of honour, warped though that may seem. As a rule, they tried to avoid harming innocents. There was no profit in that, and it tended to anger the law even more than need be. And they had patterns that could be discerned. Signatures. Amateurs, on the other hand, were unpredictable, sloppy and reckless. And the mistakes they made could well make them more of a hazard.

Which was the reason why Team 7 and a significant number of other agents had taken up residence in the hospital wing. Patients had been relocated to other floors, their spaces taken over by ATF and local law officers. Likewise, most of the so-called staff on-duty wouldn't have been able to bandage a cut, let alone provide the kind of care they were acting out. Making a bunch of federal agents into convincing nurses and orderlies was a sizable, and challenging, undertaking.

In the middle of at all, figuratively and literally, Ezra was lying almost as still as death on a bed in the intensive care unit. To state that he was unhappy with the situation would not do justice to the depth of his feelings at the moment. Low mutterings could be heard through the oxygen mask covering his face, and if Chris, lying in the bed next to him, had to caution him one more time, he planned to do it as forcefully as he figured he could get away with.

"I'm stuck here too Ezra, so stop your damned complaining."

"You are medically restricted to bedrest. I, on the other hand, am perfectly capable of being out of bed, and functioning in a more active role in this endeavor." At least, that's what the muffled words sounded like, more or less.

"You have a concussion and oxygen deprivation. And in case you have forgotten, **you** are the target. I'd say that's about as active a role as it gets. Now shut your trap."

Ezra did as he was told for a few minutes. Chris knew it was too good to last.

"Too many people are taking far to great a risk."

Chris sighed. He understood the frustration and could only imagine how bad the man was feeling about all of this. "Everyone is just doing their job Ezra."

"We both know that this will go beyond that for them. I fear they will be willing to take foolish and unnecessary risks to assist me in resolving this matter, and it is something they should neither need nor want to do."

"You'd do it for them, right?" Chris knew the answer but needed to be sure Ezra did as well.

"They would be worth the price."

Damn it! Even after all this time, everything that had gone on within the group, all of the discussions, disclosures, reassurances and bonding, he still could not break free of the damage done to him in the past.

"Don't you think that just maybe, since the six men you seem to respect so much think you are worth the price, you just might be?"

Ezra pulled away the mask for a moment to give him what could only be described as a reluctantly ironic grin. "I should accept that, and God knows you continue to make me try. For the sake of your sanity, I will again make the effort to see things from that perspective. No promises."

Well, it was a start. "Do your best. It's always been good enough in the past."

Before Ezra could respond, he was mercifully saved the need by the soft cackle of the communicator.

"Guys, someone approaching your room. Dressed like an orderly, but not one of ours." Nathan's voice was barely audible.

Both men immediately went quiet, in full coma mode. The door opened just a crack as someone peered in, then cautiously opened it wide enough to slip in, holding it so it closed without a sound. He looked to the first bed, where the patient was apparently out of it. He made a small noise at the foot of the bed and smiled when it got no reaction, which meant he wouldn't have to waste time killing this one too. It was only a few more short steps to approach his intended target. The smile twisted into a snarl as he glared at the apparently unconscious man.

"You arrogant bastard. Uncle Jacob had such high hopes for you, and look how you ended up. Just can't do anything the easy way – even die. This would have been so much easier as a suicide like Will had planned. At least now I'll get the credit." He moved to the head of the bed and sharply pulled a pillow out from under Ezra's head, moving quickly to place it over his face. He half expected a struggle of some kind, until he recalled his victim was in a coma. He chortled softly. This was going to be even easier than he thought. He waited several seconds watching for the monitor to react, to reflect signs of stress. When there was no change after what had to have been half a minute, he pulled the pillow back. Ezra just grinned up at him, and winked.

"What the hell?" He dropped the pillow and reached out for an even more hands-on attempt, but froze in mid-action.

"Really would suggest you stay perfectly still." From the corner of his eye he saw Chris holding a gun pointed unwaveringly at him. In the next instant, the door was thrown open and two more guns were aimed at him.

"Case you hadn't figured it out, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of a federal agent. Smartest thing you can do is stand perfectly still." Vin's tone indicated he wouldn't mind if the idiot did try to make a move, but his desire for vengeance was not going to be satisfied today. Buck walked toward him, reciting his rights as he spun the man around to formally place him in custody.

Ezra sat up in the bed, shaking his head sadly. "It really does not speak well for the intelligence of father's side of the family tree – does it?"

"What's he talking about?" the prisoner asked as Buck handcuffed him.

"Well, I'm guessing he figures that a smart man would know better than to try to suffocate a man who is wearing an oxygen mask for one thing."

"Or to try to fake a suicide after you clobber someone on the head, and leave drag marks from the stable to the garage."

He shook his head determinedly. "That wasn't me. Will did that – the idiot." He glared over to Chris. "Wouldn't have had to do any of it if you hadn't interfered when Davy –". He cut himself off. "No, never mind. Didn't say anything."

JD had entered in time to hear that. "Will and Davy – two of William's sons? That makes you Mike, right? Doing all this for dear old dad?"

"Not saying anything without my lawyer."

"As is your prerogative. I presume then you anticipate my dear cousins will be equally circumspect in protecting you from the rather nefarious and illicit exploits in which you have been partaking. Not that they will be compelled to provide any validation or affirmation on this futile endeavour. And surely they would not incriminate their own blood by implicating him in the other attempts, thereby vindicating themselves."

Mike grew more puzzled with each word Ezra spoke. "What are you talking about?" He turned to the others. "What the hell is he talking about."

Buck smirked. "Ezra, it ain't nice to talk so fancy around someone like this. It's clear to see he isn't the brightest bulb on the family tree."

Vin favoured the hapless fool with an evil glare. "He's guessing, correctly I am sure, that your brothers are going to throw you under the bus on this, saying it was all your idea to make daddy proud. Pin the shooting and the attack at the ranch on you as well most likely. Nice bunch of relatives you got. Guessing there aren't a lot of family picnics, are there?"

"No, not true. It was Pop's idea. Reward for whoever takes this one out, and they get to become second in command. Everybody was gunning for him. Not just us, but Pop said even one of Jacob's kids is trying to get in on it."

"And you will testify to that?" Buck prodded.

He hesitated as he calculated how much damage he'd already done to any defence he might have had. "I get a deal on it?"

Chris snarled at him. "We'll make sure your family doesn't find out how fast you were willing to sell them out and see to it that you aren't in the same prison. Take it or leave it. Buck, get this waste of skin outta my sight." He would have loved to interrogate the man further but could see just how stunned Ezra had been by the confession and all of the implications, and knew he needed to clear the room for him.

"We'll head out too." Vin had seen the look as well. "You both need some rest."

"No. Wait, please. I need – I wanted…" Ezra paused, not entirely certain of how to say everything he wanted to.

Vin took the few steps needed for him to cross the room and put a calming hand on Ezra's arm. "You're welcome. Now get some rest."

It got quiet quickly. Chris said nothing, watching the process start. To witness Ezra in full analytical mode was fascinating experience. He'd seen it often enough when a case was being reviewed or a plan was hatched. Ezra seemed to be able to shut out the world, and focus on just the single goal of getting every detail sorted and filed in his mind. Right now, Chris would bet his next paycheque that the process was being used to try to decide who the new threat was, given the fact that was what he'd been doing since Mike spilled what little he knew.

Simon's family seemed to be out of the action, which wasn't surprising. Simon himself seemed to operate mostly in the north east, and had shown no signs of changing that. As for the kids - James, Randy, Janice and Martin - they didn't appear to be any to keen on riding to the rescue either. The closest any came to even being on west coast was Janice, and she was in Hawaii. And, based on the records they had, the leap to murder seemed unlikely. Not impossible. Chris had learned in the past anyone was capable under the right (or wrong) conditions. But premeditated murder of a federal agent was a bit extreme.

But if Mike was to be believed, one of Jacob's other kids was now in the mix. Chris hadn't memorized the file, but had read it often enough to be able to sort through the possibilities, or at least the ones they knew about. First born was Daniel. A very strong possibility. His record showed a decided interest in taking the most direct approach to handle problems. But, according to JD, Daniel was married and relocated to Ireland. They would need to double check that before eliminating him. The next candidate was Aaron. Also a couple of years older than Ezra, and showing quite an interest in following his father's path, although apparently less inclined toward violence. Or maybe just better at not being caught. He hadn't been heard of since disappearing shortly after Jacob was killed, which put him at the top of the list as far as Chris was concerned.

The only daughter who really seemed to be in the mix was Josie. Just a few months younger than Daniel, (the older ones definitely were more criminally inclined he was noticing) she seemed to be active criminally, but again with less violence and more scheming on her record. If the information they had was accurate the other daughter, Pamela, younger than Ezra, had chosen not to have anything to do with dear old dad. She was married and living somewhere in Florida, working for a publishing company, with not even a suggestion of criminal activity.

Gary, the youngest, didn't look to be trouble either. Again, no contact of any kind that JD had been able to find. He was somewhat closer geographically than most of the others, being based in Portland, but that was the only reason he entered into consideration. That left Dylan. A bit of a wild card. Vin and Nathan had agreed he seemed on the up and up, but just the fact he was there in town, and ended up working with two members of Team Seven seemed too convenient for Chris's liking. There was nothing more than gut instinct, but that was enough to keep him under consideration.

The numbers were not encouraging. Out of fourteen cousins that they knew about, they had two, Trevor and now Mike under arrest, and two more about to be. Based on a combination of facts, experience and intuition, Chris was willing to take only two others, Pam and Gary, out of contention completely. Simon's four could surprise them, but if Mike was playing this straight, and he seemed to scared not to, odds were they were going to be dealing with Daniel, Dylan, Josie or Aaron. Chris's money was on Aaron.

Having reached his own conclusion he turned his attention back to Ezra, wondering if he had reached the same conclusion. A couple of times he looked like he was about to speak, but each time he changed his mind, and settled back deeper into the pillows. He pulled the sheets up further, bunching them around him in a manor that reminded Chris a little of Adam after a nightmare. He racked his brain for something, anything to say, but was unable to come up with the right words. Or any words for that matter.

"Buck was right - wasn't he?" Ezra finally said.

"I doubt it, but it has been known to happen. Can you give me a bit more to go on?"

"At the ranch, when JD was telling me all of this, Buck was right. My family is totally fucked up."

Chris wasn't sure if it was the swearing or the sentiment that surprised him more. Ezra rarely resorted to such common language, and it demonstrated clearly just how beaten down he was feeling.

"No Ezra. Not totally. Keep in mind, JD also found some Standish's that have nothing to do with any of this. And, in case you have forgotten, there is one member of the Standish clan who is about as upstanding a man as I know."

"You need to start associating with a better class of people then." Chris was about to admonish him when he saw the hint of a smile on his face.

"Don't know where I'd find much better than what I've got. Granted, they aren't a perfect group, and I am pretty sure some of them do things just to piss me off sometimes, but overall, I'd say I'm a lucky man."

"For the most part, I would have to agree with you."

"For the most part? Chris questioned with concern creeping back into his voice.

Ezra forced himself to smile again, knowing any other reaction would just create more cause for concern. "Well, there are times some of our number can be a tad immature and challenging. And Buck really should do something about that cheesy moustache, don't you think?"

The act didn't fool him for a minute, but Chris decided to take comfort in the fact Ezra cared enough to be making the effort, and that was a step in the right direction.

 _tbc_

 ** _M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7_**


	8. Chapter 8

The list of things frustrating Chris Larabee as he sat at the restaurant toying with his breakfast was too long to even consider. Aside from the smaller ones – his ache from the still healing wound, the fact that JD had staying behind to monitor people and movements, the red tape that seemed to envelop pretty much every aspect of this case – he had a few big things on the list.

At the top was the fact they even had needed to come to San Francisco. Mike Standish was singing like a bird – a desperate, terrified bird. Not only were they getting information on this case, but on a slew of open investigations. Granted, none really fell under the mandate of the ATF, but the attempt on an agent's life did give them a certain amount of leeway. But, until everything could be investigated and corroborated, the no one was filing any charges, so the trial for Trevor Standish was forging ahead. They'd been given an extra week, based on Chris's hospitalization, but that still hadn't let them off the hook, which is why all but JD were currently finishing off ham and eggs in a diner a block from the courthouse.

Fighting for the number one position on Chris's "I'm mad at the world and here is why" list was the state his undercover agent was in. He could handle Ezra when he was angry. Or when he was petulant, or mischievous, or bored or any one of a hundred other moods the man demonstrated when he was of a mind to. But an introverted Ezra Standish was a whole different issue. No one was getting through to him. Given the fact he was soon to be facing down an attorney whose intention was to shatter his confidence and make it look for all the world like he was an intricate part of the family legacy, Chris and the others all had a very bad feeling about how the day would go.

"There is no cause for such long faces gentlemen." Ezra had easily read the room. "I can assure you I will present the embodiment of calm and reserve on the stand. I refuse to allow myself to be the reason this bastard could walk free."

He paused, uncertain about how to proceed, knowing how these men would react to what he planned to say next.

"You should know that I have had a skyped video conference with the assistant director of the Bureau. Yesterday, after you gentlemen had testified."

"Shit Ezra, what have you done?" Chris mentally moved Ezra's mood to the top of his frustration list.

"I have offered to resign, or relocate, as he sees fit once this matter has been resolved."

"You did what?" Buck's shout had every head in the restaurant turn toward their table. "You out of what's left of your mind?"

"For the sake of the team, the Bureau, I believe it to be the best choice."

"Fuck the Bureau, or the team for that matter. What about **us** Ezra? What about what's in our best interest – as friends?" Buck asked in a quieter voice.

"Things have changed."

"Really? Not as far as we are concerned." Nathan challenged.

"How can you help but feel differently toward me? Everything this has exposed. Everything you now know."

"For God's sake Ezra, we don't care."

Vin was nodding. "You understand that, don't you? None of us can change our families."

"Most people wouldn't want to."

"You'd be surprised." Josiah advised him. "My parents were nothing to be boasted about. Father brought a whole new definition to disciplinarian, and mother was always too weak, or too self-involved to question it. Leaving them behind was the smartest thing I ever did. Not proud of that, but it's the truth."

"Everybody has a few skeletons in their family closet Ezra." Buck added, deciding not to elaborate.

"Skeletons, yes. I have a veritable boneyard."

"Not your doing Pard. Nothing you need to lay claim on."

Ezra shook his head. "On the contrary. I am very much a Standish. It's in the blood. It is not surprising to me that you are trying to distance yourselves- "

"What the hell are you talking about." Buck challenged him. "We aren't the ones stepping back - you are."

"Easy Buck." Josiah cautioned.

"No. Chris was right before. You don't need us pussyfooting around all of this. Not the family stuff, and sure as hell not what it means. You're the one pulling away Ezra. You haven't come out to the ranch, haven't been to poker games. You've even abandoned Chaucer. What, you think that horse of yours is pissed off at you too? Are you that twisted up in all of this that you can't even see us right anymore?"

"Hate to say it, but he's right s-, Ezra." Josiah caught himself. "We understand you've had a lot to process, but you have to stop shutting us out."

Ezra winced at the hesitation in Josiah's statement, but didn't comment, hoping his reaction went unnoticed. It didn't.

"Son of a bitch. That's what this is about?" Chris demanded.

The others turned to him in confusion, while Ezra looked away. "It is a simple but telling reflection of how things have changed." He said softly.

"Josiah, would you please explain to this stubborn self-doubting fool why you have stopped calling him son?"

When the big man turned to him, looking stunned, Ezra wanted to disappear through the floor. "No, there is no need to dwell-"

"Good God Ezra - you think I don't… It has nothing…" he paused, gathering his thoughts. "I didn't want to say anything, not a syllable, that would bring that man to mind for you. Nothing that cast him into your thoughts. The way I feel about you - the way all of us feel about you - that hasn't changed." He reached over engulfed Ezra's hand in his own. "All the time you chewed me out for calling you son - I figured I'd found out why and didn't want to put you through any of that. You want that reference back, I gotta tell you, it would please me no end to be able to say it to you again."

Ezra looked for any note of falsehood in the man, and not surprisingly failed to find one. He looked at the others, all equally anxious to hear the response. For the first time in recent memory, he actually, genuinely smiled.

"It would please me no end to hear it again, Josiah."

Chris allowed himself a moment of relief, before wondering if a new item had to go on his list. "Just out of morbid curiosity Ezra, how much damage control am I going to have to do back at the office? What was the response to your offer to quit?"

"I was informed that only a fool would break up this team, and the assistant director did not take kindly to that description. I had intended to go over his head on the matter, but perhaps now that action will no longer be required."

"Got that right – son."

Ezra shook himself slightly, reining in his emotions as he stood. "Now, gentlemen, I believe we have a trial to attend."

7-7-7-7-7-7-7

The prosecution had called their witnesses, which meant Chris, Vin and Josiah would be able to sit in the courtroom, hopefully providing silent moral support for Ezra. Since Buck and Nathan were not involved as witnesses, they were staying away from the courthouse to keep the crowding to a minimum.

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"I do."

"Be seated and state your name for the record."

"Ezra Standish." He sat, watching impassively as the defense attorney approached.

"Good Morning Mr. Standish -"

"Agent Standish." Ezra corrected.

"Oh, my deepest apology. Agent Standish. Could you please tell the court what your relationship is to the defendant?"

"To the best of my knowledge, he is my half-brother."

"To the best of your knowledge?"

"I haven't seen any DNA test to prove it, and the source of the information is somewhat less than reliable."

"And that source would be…?"

"Jacob Standish."

"And he is…?"

"Was. Jacob Standish was, biologically, my father."

"Was. Are you indicating then that Jacob Standish is deceased?"

Ezra allowed a hint of a grin to come to his face. "Are you really this poorly prepared for my examination Mr. Dunston? Very well, I shall indulge you. Yes, Jacob Standish is deceased. Yes, it was during the commission of a crime. And yes, I am the one who killed him. Does that reconcile the gaps in your information?"

Chris glanced over, relieved to see a number for the jurors smiling at the manner Dunston was put in his place. It didn't take Josiah's profiling skills to know most of them were less than impressed by the smarmy and condescending attitude he'd been demonstrating for the past two days. So far, Ezra was displaying just the right amount of confidence and charm to win them quickly to his side. How long that would last remained to be seen.

"Yes, thank you. That is an excellent start. Now, you were quite anxious that I call you Agent Standish. Could you please educate the jury as to basis for that title?"

"I am Federal Agent with the Bureau Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives."

"A noble pursuit. Has that always been your chosen career?"

 _Here we go_ , Chris thought.

"No." Ezra fleetingly considered offering the fact that age 4 he had planned on being a superhero when he grew up but didn't really think this was the time or place.

"No? What else have you done?"

"A myriad of experiences throughout my adult years."

"Share some of them with us - please."

"I have waited tables, delivered pizza, taught tennis -"

"Could we possibly move forward to some of your more recent jobs, rather than those you held in college?"

"You are making an inaccurate assumption, but I understand your intention. Prior to my current position, I was with the FBI for a number of years."

"And you left that job under a cloud of suspicion, did you not?"

"Objection Your Honour." Keller finally was on his feet. "Agent Standish is not the Standish on trial here. This line of questioning is wasting the court's time."

"Your Honour. It is essential we understand exactly how credible a witness this man is before we can proceed with our line of enquiry."

Judge Walton did not look pleased. "He's your witness, and you are questioning his credibility?"

"His claims are an integral part of the DA's case, and we intend to establish serious doubt as to how legitimate those claims are. As the DA was unwilling to put this man on the stand, for reasons we can only speculate about -"

"Your honour! He is slandering his own witness!"

"Order!"

Chris was glad Buck and JD weren't here for this. They would both likely be under arrest for contempt already, or at the very least have been tossed out of the room. A cautious glance at Vin and Josiah left him wondering how much longer they would hold their tempers. For that matter, he wondered how much longer he would. What he couldn't begin to understand was how Ezra remained so calm. For all the stress he was showing, he might just as well have been at an afternoon tea, rather that testifying under the worst imaginable circumstances. No wonder he was so damn good undercover.

"Your Honour," Dunston continued, "I would like the court's permission to treat this man as a hostile witness."

"He has been nothing but civil and co-operative. I don't see a reason to allow that."

"I anticipate things are about to change."

"If they do, you can issue the request at that point. As to the previous objection…sustained. Move along with your questioning Mr. Dunston, but let's try to keep things relevant to this case, shall we?"

Dunston turned his back to the judge, ostensibly to retrieve paperwork from his desk. The scowl that flashed across his face betrayed the real reason, but by the time he was again approaching Ezra, his face was neutral. From the shuffling that happened in the jury box, it was clear they had taken note.

"Now, Mr. - excuse me - Agent Standish. Please explain to the court what you were doing in the ballroom of the San Francisco Towers Hotel on the night my client was arrested."

Ezra decided "I was arresting him" might come across as a bit too flip. He kept his sigh to himself as he proceeded to summarize as briefly as possible what had happened. Knowing this question would be asked, he had considered detailing the whole story of Maude's faked death, the discovery she was alive and the unanticipated family reunion, but even to his own ears, the tale sounded outrageous. He hoped he'd be able to avoid most, if not all, of the details. "I was there to try to locate my mother. The presence of Jacob Standish at the scene was unexpected. The presence of your client was even more so, as up to that moment I had been oblivious to his existence."

"You did not know you had a brother?"

"Half-brother. And no. I was blissfully unaware of that fact."

"I find that difficult to believe."

"Your inability to comprehend a simple statement of fact is not my concern."

 _Damn_ , Chris thought, _he's getting pissed off_.

"You were equally ignorant of the fact your dad was there? Even though you were looking for your mother?"

"To the best of my knowledge, my parents had not been together for several years. I had no reason to expect to find him while seeking her out."

"Why were you looking for her?"

"Family matters, not relevant to this case."

"Why don't you let us decide that?"

"No."

"Your Honour - permission to treat him as hostile now?"

"No. Unless you can let the court know what this has to do with anything going on here now, I am going to agree with the witness that his business with his mother, who is not on trial here either, has no standing."

Ezra could see it coming. Dunston had the look of a man who would not be denied, and since the court wasn't about to give him permission to proceed in the manner he had planned, he was going to plow his way through it, and deal with the consequences after. Ezra knew his life was about to be laid open for the jury to hear.

"Very well. Let's turn our focus to the statement you provided in the hotel after your father was killed and my client arrested. You **claim** your father confessed to you his intention to kidnap you and force you to assist in a scheme he had to steal upwards of a million dollars in jewels."

"That is correct."

"Why would he do that?"

"Objection - he is asking the witness to speculate on the motives of a criminal."

"I'm sorry, that was not my intention. Let rephrase the question. Why would he feel he would need to kidnap and threaten you when you have a long history of working with your family on multiple illegal activities over the years that resulted in an extensive juvenile criminal record and raised enough suspicion to have you dismissed from the FBI? With that kind of history, why would you need to be persuaded Agent Standish?"

The end of the question could barely be heard over the shouted objections and calls for order. Chris had his hand gripped tightly around Josiah's arm to hold him in place. He could feel Vin doing the same to his arm, for the same reason.

"Mr. Dunston!" The judge's face was red with furor. "You are dangerously close to contempt on this matter. In fact, I believe you have passed that limit."

"Your Honour…"

"Please Mr. Keller. I will get to your objections in a moment, if there are any left after I have my say. I cannot imagine that it will do this case, or the cause of justice, any good to instruct the jury to disregard what they have just heard. Your attempt to bring this man's credibility into question has far overstepped any accepted norms. I can only assume you are aiming for a mistrial for reasons I cannot fathom. I am loathe to grant it to you, but at this point -"

"Your Honour? If I may, I would like to answer his question."

 _tbc_

 _ **M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7**_


	9. Chapter 9

The courtroom went quiet. Ezra's simple comment had the effect of sucking the air from the room. It was all Chris could do to stay seated. Ezra couldn't deny any of the claims made. If he wanted to answer it meant he was either about to throw his career away, or he was going to lie on the stand, and that wasn't going to happen. It had to be the first option, and Chris could think of no way to stop it. He clenched his jaw, willing himself to silence. Vin apparently had the same reaction, as he was as still as a statue. The only words spoken were as a barely audible whisper of "don't do it son" from Josiah.

"You don't need to do that Agent Standish."

"I am fully aware of that. But if I don't, you will have to put an end to this proceeding, and we will simply have to endure the experience again in the future. And, unless we can have Mr. Dunston disbarred for cause between now and then, this moment will repeat as well, trapping us all in a courtroom-based Groundhog Day hell. I see no reason not deal with the matter now."

Walton stared at him from the bench for several seconds before speaking. "Alright. I will allow you to reply, but I won't promise you that it will be enough to stave off a mistrial."

Keller dropped back into his seat, mentally preparing his notes for refiling the case. Maybe with a change of venue this time.

"I understand. Thank you."

Dunston resembled a cartoon shark, a toothy grin taking over his face. "Would you like me to repeat the question for you Agent Standish?"

"That will hardly be necessary. Since you have asked me to speculate on his reason for threatening me, I would have to say that it was because he knew there was no other way to get me to co-operate."

Dunston stepped up to the box. "But I wasn't asking you about his reason. I was asking you why you would expect us to believe he would **have** to threaten you."

"Yes. I know. And I am attempting to explain, if you will provide the same leeway for me to answer the question as the court as given you to ask it."

Dunston gave a theatrical 'after you' bow to him. "Please. Convince us."

"I spent the first half of my life as a not entirely unwilling pawn in any number of grifts, games and gambits. I was conditioned and trained to do whatever was needed, whenever it was needed, with little if any concern for the consequences of such actions. It was, after all, the family business. And yes, there is a juvenile record to support that. Mostly for petty thefts, confidence scams, illegal gambling and a sordid collection of minor offenses that are a poor reflection on the parenting skills of Maude and Jacob Standish. Not that I was necessarily anxious to change my lifestyle at the time."

He paused, keeping his gaze focused on Dunston while reaching for the glass of water. He didn't need the liquid as much as he needed a moment to prepare the next comments. "Circumstances separated me from Jacob at an early age, although his influence remained. It was late in my teenage years that I left mother to pursue my own agenda. Much to her dismay, I had decided to set off on my own. Not as competition, but as counterpoint. I tired of being on the move constantly. Of seeing the destruction our little ventures left in their wake. I had no clue as to how one went about earning an honest living, and doubted that I could, but I was certain there was something else out there.

I made what I swore would be the final use of my con artistry to finagle my way into a university. It was as the result of some of my interests and activities there that I was eventually recruited into the FBI, much to the shame and horror of my family."

"So," Dunston interrupted. "You were in contact with your family at the time." He said it as if he had made a major discovery.

Ezra smirked. "Yes. Strange as it may seem to you, my mother expressed some interest in the actions of her son, hoping to ensure I made appropriate life choices. Shame your mother didn't show a similar concern." There was some snickering in the crowd, which the judge let pass for just a moment longer than she should before gavelling for quiet. "If I may be permitted to continue?"

"Do you intend to come around to answering the question any time soon?" Dunston's anger was beginning to get harder to hide, and Ezra took quiet satisfaction in the fact.

"Your initial question concerned my background. I am attempting to deal with that portion."

"I think the members of the jury have enough information, unless you were planning to tell them why you were kicked out of the FBI?"

"I resigned from the FBI."

"You ran before you could be charged."

Ezra bristled. He couldn't honestly deny the claim, and he knew he would not be given enough time to try to explain what he was thinking and feeling at the time. He doubted that he could.

"I choose to think of it as running to something, rather than away from anything. I had a better offer."

"And you are asking the court to believe that you are now a man above reproach, despite all of the early influences in your life?"

"Hardly. I have yet to meet any man completely above reproach. It is not the construct of human nature. It is how those baser instincts and inclinations are handled, how they are used or overcome, that makes a man respectable, accepted and fundamentally decent. What I **was** is not who I **am**. The six men I work with, who are men of honour and integrity, continue to try to convince me of this every day. It has taken some time, but I am learning to accept that as fact.

Jacob Standish saw it too, which is why he took the steps he did to ensure I was not a hindrance in his plans. It would seem at this point, the only person incapable of seeing it," _apart from myself a good deal of the time_ , he added silently, "would be you, Mr. Dunston."

Dunston glared at him with his back to the jury, before turning to give them a look that clearly stated, 'can you believe that?' One look at them told him they did.

"No further questions." He took his seat, failing at hiding his displeasure with the turn of events.

"Cross examine Mr. Keller?"

"A few questions Your Honour. Agent Standish forgive me, but as the matter of your juvenile record has been raised, can you tell the court when your last arrest was?"

"I do not recall the exact date. I was 16 years old."

"And subsequent to that event, have you ever been placed in custody?"

"Only in matters pertaining to undercover work I have been involved with. Never on a legitimate basis."

"Have you ever broken any laws?"

"Well, I will concede to having a bit of a lead foot when driving on occasion." There was soft laughter in the room, and a notching down of some of the tension that had built up.

"Speeding issues aside," Keller smiled, "have you broken any laws since that time?"

"Again, there have been some infractions committed in the course of fulfilling my role in various undercover assignments both at the FBI and the ATF. All are fully documented. There were a few poker games in university, but beyond that, and in terms of what I believe you are trying to establish, as an individual, no, I have not broken any laws since I was 16 years old."

"And were any charges of wrongful actions, corruption, abuse of authority or any other offenses laid against you by the FBI?"

"They were not."

"Did you seek out employment with the ATF, or did they recruit you?"

"They approached me."

"Why?"

"You would have to ask them."

"Come now Agent Standish. Surely you wondered why the Bureau was so quick to try to bring you into their ranks. Did no one offer an explanation?"

Ezra hazarded a glance toward Chris. The supportive smile he found there came dangerously close to making him lose the composure he had been fighting to maintain since taking the stand. He hesitated again, reaching for the water glass that was now empty. The judge noted the acted and signalled to the bailiff to refill it. "Do you need a moment Agent Standish?" she asked.

"No, thank you. I am simply attempting to recall the explanation that was offered. I believe they indicated that the skills I had demonstrated in my past assignments were an asset the ATF was interested in exploiting."

"So, no mention was made of the numerous commendations and service awards you had received over the years you were with the FBI?"

"There may have been an allusion to them." Ezra couldn't stop from blushing slightly, knowing he was going to have a few words with Chris about sharing that conversation with anyone, let alone Keller.

"How many such notations are there in your file?"

"It is not something I keep track of."

"The Bureau does. Would you like the number?"

He was definitely going to kill Chris when this was done. "No."

"39." Ezra said nothing. "And in barely a third the time with the ATF you have 27 such notations." There was a murmur in the court which the judge silenced. "Wouldn't you suppose, then, that 66 such accolades might well be the reason Jacob Standish felt - knew - that you would have to be coerced or threatened into offering any hint of assistance to him? Wouldn't you suppose that your exemplary record would support your assertions and testimony as to the veracity of the reports on how this arrest occurred?"

"Your honour - Mr. Keller is badgering my witness." Dunston objected.

"I fail to see that singing his praises constitutes badgering Mr. Dunston. Sit down."

"Agent Standish?" Keller prodded.

"It is possible that Jacob would have expected be me to object, thereby creating the need to attempt a more devious approach.

"Agent Standish, did you plant the weapon used to murder Thomas Harvey in the room of Trevor Standish?"

"I did not."

"Did you ask any of your colleagues -?"

"I did not, and even if I had, they would not. Their honesty is not in question here."

"Did you hear Jacob Standish state Trevor had killed the guard?"

"Hearsay Your Honour." Dunston objected.

"Withdrawn." Keller was about to dismiss Ezra when the court doors opened and he was waved over to his desk. "If I could have a minute Your Honour?"

She nodded, and he moved to consult with the young legal aid who was looking uncommonly excited.

Ezra sat calmly on the stand, avoiding eye contact with anyone. The unflappable appearance camouflaged turmoil. He wanted this over. He wanted off the stand and away from here. As far away as possible. Knowing the Chris, Vin and Josiah were going to be waiting outside the courtroom didn't help. For the first time in a very long time, Ezra wanted nothing more than to run and hide from everything and everyone in his world.

"Your Honour. I have just been informed that, based on sworn statements from Michael Standish, which have now been corroborated by others and are supported by forensic evidence, Federal warrants have just been served on William Standish Jr. and David Standish and both men are under arrest for the attempted murder of Ezra Standish, and for their roles in what we now know was the premeditated murder of Security Guard Thomas Harvey. There is also an additional outstanding warrant now in place against William Standish Sr. on the same charges, as well as for ordering the attempts on Agent Standish. We are withdrawing the second- degree charges against Trevor Standish and refiling as first-degree."

"You son of a bitch." Trevor jumped out of his seat toward Ezra. He was restrained by security only a couple of seconds before Vin was behind him, pulling him back. "I shoulda killed you when I had the chance."

"Yes, there are few things more tragic than a squandered opportunity." Trevor lunged again, but Vin's near-death grip kept him under control.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, we thank you for your time, but you are dismissed. I would like to see both attorney's in my chambers immediately. Agent Standish," she smiled at him, "thank you as well. I hope you do not have to continue to relive this experience."

Ezra smiled back but didn't leave his seat as the courtroom cleared. His eyes followed Trevor's every angry step as he was dragged from the room. When he looked back, he knew the others were approaching.

"We can go out a side door if you want. Less exposure."

"I think we are past worrying about exposure at this point. I would hazard a guess that my undercover days are over."

"Nah, you're too much of a chameleon to worry about that. Bit of time, maybe a moustache - nobody will know you." Vin reassured him.

"We can worry about that down the line. You OK Ezra?" Chris didn't like the pallor, or the fact Ezra still remained seated.

"Knowing your family is trying to kill you, and hearing the charges read out in court are two very different sensations. Is it necessary to remain in San Francisco any longer?"

Vin pulled out his phone, showing flight information to his tired friend. "JD made the changes soon as he found out about this. We're outta here in about 4 hours. Just time to get to the hotel and pack up."

Ezra took the hint and stood, hoping he would be able to remain steady. They walked out and down the now quieter corridor. Any media covering the story would have been banished to the outer lobby, or more likely, out of the building. There might be a small gauntlet to face there, but together they could get through anything. They retrieved their weapons from security, left a note for Keller and left the complex.

They all stopped short halfway down the courthouse stairs, surprised to see Buck and Nathan rushing up the sidewalk.

"Don't you guys ever check your messages?" Buck called out as they got closer.

"We've been in court, remember? Phones off." Vin replied, reaching for his automatically.

"How come you're out already?" he asked. "No, never mind. That'll keep." Buck interrupted. "We need to get inside." The tone in his voice was all the encouragement Chris need and he reached out to take Ezra by the arm and was surprised to have him step away.

"What is going on?" he asked, taking a second step back. He had the feeling he knew, and instinctively was trying to put space between himself and the others. They clued in as well and began trying to form a protective circle around him. He turned to object when he saw the car slowing as it pulled closer, window lowered half way. No, this was not happening. The worst of all possible fates could not happen twice.

"Down!" He stretched out one arm to push Vin from the position he had taken in front of him, using the second to pull Chris back from the line of fire as well. He tried to reach for his gun an instant later but felt the burning pain in his chest before he had the chance. He heard more shots firing as he fell, tumbling down the stairs.

His world stopped for those seconds - he had no idea how many. He could hear the shooting, the shouts for everyone to get to cover. There was, he thought, a screech of brakes and a crashing sound. None of it fully registered, fighting as it was against the almost pathological need to ensure nothing happened to the others.

Ezra didn't need to be told who was behind this. It didn't matter to him the identities of the people in the car - he knew why there were here and who had sent them. If any of his team had even a scratch because of this, and assuming he survived to find out, he was going to ignore everything good and decent aspect of his character that they foolishly believed he had developed. He was going to hunt down every member of the Standish clan who had ever even thought about breaking a law and make absolutely certain that they could never again pose a risk to anyone. Consequences didn't matter. Punishment didn't matter. His life had no meaning other than to guarantee that the others were safe from his lineage.

The team scattered, intuitively looking for vantage points to defend themselves, and the others in the street. They had little chance to respond. The first shot from the car had alerted court security, who opened fire with an impressive response time. Seconds after it all started, the venue was quiet again, as the car rolled to a crashing stop against the concrete barricades. Both the driver and shooter were slumped over in their seats, and from where they stood the team could hear them being declared dead. They didn't really care, as attention focused on their own downed colleague.

"We need an ambulance!" Josiah was shouting as he knelt beside Ezra, cradling his head, keeping him from the hard sidewalk. "Take it easy son. You're gonna be just fine." He prayed he wasn't lying.

"Not again - couldn't let it happen again."

"Shh Ez. Don't try to talk." Nathan skidded to his side.

"Couldn't let - is anyone hurt?"

It was all too familiar a moment, and Chris understood Ezra's panicked tone. "Just you, so lie still. Nobody else was hit Ezra. Now do what Nathan is telling you to." He looked around, hoping he'd been right. He knew the team was alright but hadn't checked for bystanders. On first glance, no one else seemed to be down, and he wasn't hearing a lot of shouting, just confusion. Buck was running towards him from where he'd been checking out the wrecked car. He squatted next to Chris, speaking softly. "Was William shooting. And I know the driver from his picture." He switched his focus to Vin. "It was Dylan."

"No."

"Unless he has a twin. Obviously, the bastard was lying to you."

"Family trait."

"Hush Ezra." Vin admonished almost without thought. "I can't believe it. I was sureï¿½"

"We were sure," Nathan corrected. "I bought the act too. Damn, he was so convincing."

Chris knew they were going to have to deal with this later, but there were more pressing concerns right now. "How did you guys know, and is there anyone else coming?"

Nathan went back to checking Ezra, so Buck answered. "David kids started talking - bragging that his old man was going to get Ezra today. Family is dumber than dirt. JD called us at the restaurant when he couldn't reach you. "

"They both dead?"

"Yup?"

"Thank God." Ezra gasped out.

Vin could hear a siren in the distance that he hoped was headed in their direction. He was following Nathan's guidance to hold pressure on the wound, but it was hard to do that with Ezra moaning in pain every time he pressed down. "I'm sorry Ezra, but this is what happens if you are going to keep stepping in front of bullets."

"Only taking what was rightfully mine."

"Stop talking." Nathan ordered. "You're gonna be fine, but you need to stay still. Bullet wasn't enough for you, you had to fall and bust up your arm as well. Swear to you Standish, sometimes I think you are more trouble than the rest of these guys put together." He grinned as he spoke.

"Yes," Ezra agreed with a wry grin of his own, "but you love me anyway." The grin faded as he slowly began drifting into unconsciousness.

Hoping he could still be heard, Josiah reassured him. "That we do son. That we do."

 _tbc_

 ** _M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7_**


	10. Chapter 10

By the end of his first week back at work, Chris was convinced he had been lied to, and had actually been away from his desk for at least a year. It was the only explanation of how so much paperwork could have piled up. But, between recovering from his own injury, the trial and staying with Ezra until he was released from hospital in San Francisco, it had really only been three weeks. Three very long weeks.

The good news had been the bullet that hit Ezra hit him high in the chest, and at an angle that kept it clear of being able to do any critical damage. The bad news was that the subsequent fall broke his arm in three places. Surgery and recovery kept him hospitalized, and his mood crept lower with each passing hour. Realizing there was a security guard outside his door hadn't helped matters.

"I'm done. I need to be out of here. I need to be home."

Nathan had tried, repeatedly, to explain to him why that wasn't possible yet, but Ezra was being uncommonly thick skulled about the matter. No amount of logic, threats or tirades could get through to him. "Ezra, you can't fly home two days after surgery. A couple more weeks."

"There is more than one way to travel. Train, limo. Bus, donkey cart - I don't care. I need to be away from here. I need to get the hell out of this city. I used to love San Francisco. Now, I never want to see that damned bridge again. Please Nathan. Chris. Make the necessary arrangements. If I have to stay in a hospital, we know our local facility is more than capable of providing whatever I need."

There was no defense against the pain he was feeling. Finally, they caved in. The next day, arrangements were made for a private car to drive the three men back to join the others already at home. Ezra agreed to do everything he was told, which in and of itself was an unsettling occurrence. A compliant Ezra was not something they were familiar with. He spent the first week at home, as promised, quietly resting. Not necessarily as quietly as he had planned, since it was rare that more than an hour went by during the day when he didn't have a visitor, or a call, or both. He actually contemplated checking himself back into the hospital, thinking it might be more restful there. Eventually, the others listened to his pleas and backed off, a little, in their overpowering guardianship role.

Even the outcome of the case, and the arrests, had done little to help his mood. They had assumed the fact he wouldn't need to testify again would boost his spirits. Realizing guilty pleas were the only choice they really had, Will and Davy made their deals, and Trevor caved in as well, with Mike was being sent east for his incarceration away from the family. Ezra expressed relief at the news, and thanked everyone profusely for their roles, but didn't break free of his funk.

Now, he was due to come back to work - desk duty - on Monday, and Chris wanted to be sure everything relating to this whole sordid mess that had been playing out for a little more than four months (God, was it only that long?) had been cleared away. So, when JD tentatively knocked on the door and poked his head around and slowly walked a few steps in, he got a somewhat less than enthusiastic greeting.

"Unless this is life and death, I really don't have time now. All this business has put me miles behind on all the filing and claims and –" he stopped when he realized JD hadn't moved or responded. "Shit. Life and death?"

"Kinda."

He knew where four of the six men on his team were and swallowed past the lump in his throat before asking. "Ezra, or Josiah?"

"Ezra. But not in the way you're thinking. He's fine." Chris sighed with relief before JD added. "For now."

"He in danger?"

"Not the way you're thinking." JD repeated.

"Stop telling me what I'm thinking and tell me what's going on."

"I've been keeping an eye on Maude."

"Shit." Chris repeated himself.

"Yeah. Anyway, keeping an eye on her. She's back in the states. In New York now."

"How long as she been here?"

"Little over a week, but as long as she was staying away I was gonna let it be. Figured Ezra's had enough crap going on. We all did." Chris nodded his understanding. JD should've told him, but the point was valid.

"It's an issue now? What she done?" There was silence again. "JD. What the hell has she done?"

"She went to a couple of other cities - Rochester and Boston - before ending up in New York. The cities have one thing in common."

Chris pushed him up himself up from his desk and slowly, deliberately circled around it. It was to the young man's credit that JD didn't step back. "Have you ever noticed that you tend to stall a lot when someone asks you something you don't want to answer? Cut to the chase JD."

"They each have one of the best cancer treatment centres in the country." Chris froze in place. "That's where she's been going Chris. Nowhere else. She's been to a couple outside the country too."

No way. This was not possible. "She's running some kind of charity scam?" He never thought he'd hope to hear Maude Standish was planning a swindle.

"Don't think so. I managed to get some security camera footage – don't ask – showing her arrival at Sloan-Kettering. She's in a wheelchair." He swallowed hard before continuing. "She looks bad Chris, real bad."

"Find out what you can – through proper channels. Don't get into trouble on this. I don't need the added paperwork." JD nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, and JD?"

"Don't worry Chris, nobody else knows."

"Okay. But I was going to say – good job."

Chris waited until the door before leaning forward at his desk, head in his hands. He couldn't do this. He could not be the one to tell Ezra his mother was dying. Not now. Not after everything else. For God's sake, the man deserved at least a small break. He deserved better than this. No one should have a year like the one Ezra had dealt with, and now it was clear it wasn't over.

Reluctantly, and with no option, he reached for his phone. "Hi Katie, can you put me through to Judge Travis. Yeah, pretty urgent." He waited a moment until the call was picked up. "Judge," he stopped, his voice cracking slightly. "Oren. I need a huge favour."

7-7-7-7-7-7-7

He knew he was reading the room correctly. Six faces watched him, trying not to stare, not to make real eye contact. No, that was wrong. Chris wasn't turning away. He never did when there was news to share. Wasn't his style to avoid the responsibility.

Ezra's mind began processing scenarios, and not one of them was any better than the others. With all they had been through, all he and his family had put these men through, he was genuinely terrified of the idea there was more trouble ahead. He had no doubt that was the case.

"An escape? A new sibling or relative who has elected to make his presence known? Another contract?"

"Nothing like that. Sit down Ezra." Chris's suggestion sounded more like an order, and he forced himself to settle his anxiousness. "Please."

"No, I think I prefer to remain standing. I have the distinct impression I may be needing to leave the room momentarily."

"You really should sit, son." It felt right to Josiah to be using that term again, even under these circumstances. Maybe especially under them.

Ezra moved to one of the chairs, but stood behind it, leaning slightly over the back, arms locked to keep him upright, subconsciously bracing himself for whatever fresh hell was coming. "It cannot be any worse that what we have had to deal with recently. You are all here and healthy, so that concern is removed. Based on your dismissal of my initial questions, I feel I can conclude that the paternal side of my family has not triggered any new concerns. That leaves only one option. What has mother done?"

He'd been thinking about how to answer that question for the past 36 hours, since JD had briefed him. Chris had yet to come up with a good answer. There was no good answer.

"No easy way to say this Ezra. She's dying."

For several seconds there was nothing but the ticking of the clock. No movement other than its second hand, no sound beyond the relentless steady beat. Then a laugh. Actually, more like a snort at first, then a short, humourless, barked out laugh.

"Seriously? You do recall that is where all of this started. Mother dying is all but an annual event in my life. Hardly the cause for such long faces and deep concern."

"It's not a scam Ezra. We've checked it out. Wouldn't be telling you any of this otherwise." Chris watched closely for signs Ezra was accepting any of this. He hadn't seen a hint of it yet. He nodded to JD to proceed. The young agent looked like he would prefer to be just about anywhere else on the planet.

"Tracked her visits to a half dozen medial clinics Ezra over the last 10 weeks or so. And other specialists. Oncologists."

"It is a scam of some kind gentlemen. Fund raising stings are simple and effective, provided the bait is appropriate."

Chris cut him off. "It's no scam Ezra. Travis made a few calls. Cashed in a few favours and spoke to her doctor. It's no scam." He turned back to JD. "Show him the picture."

JD hesitated. The still he took from the video showed a very different Maude Standish than any of them were familiar with. When the others had seen the photo earlier in the day there was unanimous shock. He didn't want to think of how hard it would hit Ezra as he pulled it from the folder.

"I'm sorry Ezra."

He started at the image of his mother as if examining a crime scene photo. Looking for something that was out of place, something to negate the facts before him. His voice was calm and steady when he spoke. "Where is she?"

"New York. I've already booked us two seats on the red-eye to fly out there."

"Why?"

Chris froze in his steps, but it was Buck who reacted first. "Why? Why do you think?"

"I have no intention of going to New York. There is no reason to."

"Don't do that son. You need to go see her."

"Look Ezra. The doctor wouldn't go into details – couldn't. But he did tell Travis that if there was any family, they should get there sooner rather than later. She doesn't have a lot of time left."

"That is none of my concern. I told her months ago that she was no longer welcome in my life. Nothing has changed that fact. If anything, recent revelations have underscored and reinforced that declaration. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

"You're gonna come to regret this Ezra." Vin advised softly. "You might want to at least give it some thought."

The fact that Ezra's arms were still locked in position, supporting him against the chair was a sure sign to Chris that there was a hell of a lot more going on than Ezra was ready or willing to give voice to.

"You can't be angry about all that now Ezra."

Ezra abruptly pushed himself away from the chair. "Oh, you would be surprised at how angry I can continue to be. The woman has lied to me my entire life, about everything that held any importance to me. About who I was. About my father. For God's sake Chris – I never even knew I had a brother, let alone the rest of the lunatics I get to call my extended family. Her actions have been self-centred and self-serving since the day she took her first breath. They have endangered me, and far more importantly, endangered each and every one of you. I defy you to explain to me why I should give a damn about her now."

Chris thought back to the last words Maude had said to him, back in San Francisco when she walked out of Ezra's life. _Keep taking care of my boy. You're far better at it than I ever was._ "Because, even though she's never had a clue about how to do it, she is your mother. And all evidence to the contrary, I think – hell, I know – she loves you. More importantly, despite everything you just said, everything you've ever told us and what I am damn sure is a shitload of stuff you've never told us – you love her. Because you are a good man, and a good son. And if you don't go, you would regret it for the rest of your life. We are not going to let that happen."

"You have no say in the matter Chris. I appreciate your concern and accept that you have what you believe are my best interests at heart. I told her we were done. She knows that, and she knows why. I am not changing my mind. Good evening gentlemen."

Buck moved to block his exit. They stared for a moment, then Ezra broke the eye contact. "Please, don't make this into any more than it already is."

Vin reached out and gently tugged Buck away from the door. "It's his call. Leave him be."

Ezra barely nodded his thanks and left without looking back.

"What do we do now?" JD asked.

Chris sighed and looked at the rest of his team. The pain on their faces made him proud of each one of them. "Pack a bag Josiah. I've got two tickets, and we are flying out there. He'll want to know someone was with her. That someone said goodbye for him."

 _tbc_

 ** _M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7_**


	11. Chapter 11

"Mr. Larabee, I must confess yours is not a face I expected to see again."

"Could say the same thing Maude."

"Have you come to check up on me? Make certain I am for once and for all out of his life?"

"I came to tell you Ezra won't be coming."

Fear crossed her face. "Dear God, what happened to him."

Chris was surprised by the response. "You happened to him Maude. What do you think?"

She collapsed weakly back into her pillows. "Then he's alright."

"Depends on your definition."

"From what I have been able to ascertain, Jacob's family is no longer a threat?" There was no effort to hide her anxious tone.

"You've been keeping an eye on things?"

"He is my son Mr. Larabee. While I may not be the finest example of motherhood to ever walk the face of the earth, I do care about him."

"I know you do. That's part of the reason I'm here. And, to answer your question, yes. Pretty sure the threat has been neutralized, but was are keeping watch on them."

"And this." She weakly raised and arm to indicate her surroundings. "He knows?"

"Yeah. We told him. Took a while to convince him."

"I cannot say I'm surprised by his skepticism. It's probably for the best."

Chris was suddenly feeling the weight of all of this. "May I sit?"

"Of course. Forgive my manners." She looked beyond tired. And more frail than he had prepared himself for. But beyond that was something deeper, and he wasn't entirely certain of its nature.

"I am sorry Maude. This isn't something I'd wish on my wished enemy."

"And yet here I am."

"Didn't mean it that way."

"I know. Again, my apologies."

"That's where he gets it from." Chris grinned slightly at her puzzled look. "Ezra has a tendency to apologize for a lot of things he shouldn't. This isn't the time to worry about hurting my feelings Maude."

"Well it's too late to worry about having hurt Ezra's. Having hurt him." He was a bit surprised by the look of pride that came to her face. "You do have to admit Mr. Larabee, he turned into a remarkable man despite what I did."

"Maybe because of it Maude. Wasn't what you set out to do, and it sure wasn't the best way, but he is strong, resourceful, and just too damn clever for his own good. Think a lot of that comes from what you did."

She smiled feebly. "More accurately, how he made it work for him instead of against. We all do what we have to do to get by Mr. Larabee. I had no idea how to be a good mother, having had no real role model. I had no business having a child. No right."

"Two children Maude." He wouldn't have thought she could get even more pale.

"Damn. You know about that?"

"Yes. He does too."

"And just when I thought your opinion about me couldn't get any lower."

"This isn't about me Maude. It's about you. And him."

"Mostly him."

Chris nodded. "Tell me the truth Maude, did you know in San Francisco?" He desperately hoped the answer was no. Sooner or later Ezra was going to wonder the same thing. Did he throw his mother out of his life at a time she needed him more than ever? He was going to ask that question, and Chris wanted to have the answer.

"I had no clue then. It was just a few weeks later though. By the time I found out, it was far too late to do anything. Stage 4. The one merciful thing about this dreadful business is that it has been so fast. Doesn't give you time to do very much, or to regret very much." He doubted that last part was true. "I think it is too late to correct any of that.

"Not yet. Call him."

"I can't. I don't even have an idea of what I would begin to say."

"A Standish at a loss for words?"

"A rare occurrence, but it happens." The sly look she offered was an echo of the one he'd seen so often as Ezra wheedled his way out of something. It disappeared quickly. "I think hearing the disapproval in his voice again would simply destroy me."

"So, it **is** about you."

"I don't want that to be his final memory of me."

"At the moment, his final memory is going to be you walking out of his life."

"At his request" she reminded him.

"No, at ours. If we hadn't – I hadn't – pushed him, he never would've kicked you out."

"It was the best thing anyone has ever done for him. It should have happened years ago." Maude closed her eyes, exhausted again.

Chris felt a twinge of guilt. "I'll leave you to rest."

She nodded but opened her eyes before he could stand up, pushing herself up as much as she could. "One moment please. I have no right to ask this, and no expectation you will concur, but I am going to do it anyway. When Ezra last believed me to be dead, he came to some kind of an arrangement with you." Chris felt a pit in his stomach, knowing where this was going.

"Wasn't any arrangement Maude. He asked me for something, and I couldn't – wouldn't – say no."

"And if I were to make the same request?"

"It's his call Maude. I'm not going to do anything that will make him uncomfortable."

She shook her head sadly. "He won't ask. Not again."

He agreed but couldn't bring himself to say so. "Honest to God Maude. I don't know if he's going to want that now."

"I understand. But –" she left the question open.

"Yes. I'll talk to him."

She allowed herself to collapse back into the bed."Thank you, Mr. Larabee. And thank you for coming. I can only imagine how difficult it was for you."

"Hate to repeat myself Maude, but it wasn't about me."

"Of course not."

"He means it. It is the genuine veracity of his decency that truly makes it so noble. Hello mother."

Maude found herself too tired to fight the tears that came to her eyes. "Hello my darling boy. I'm I still allowed to call you that?"

He didn't answer but shifted his attention to Chris. "I never should've put you in this position. It was an unforgivable action, yet here I stand, hoping for your forgiveness."

"Nothing to forgive Ezra. You've had enough on your plate. If you need me, I'll be down the hall in the waiting room. Josiah's there too."

"I think you will find a few other familiar faces. The judge insisted one person stay to represent the team, and Nathan either won or lost that draw, depending on your perspective."

"I'm sure he'd rather be here." Ezra tilted his head, questioning that suggestion. Chris gave him what he hoped was an encouraging smile and headed for the door but stopped at soft words from Maude.

"You'll remember what I asked of you?"

Chris nodded. "I'll do what I can."

"I mean in San Francisco."

He stood quietly for a moment. "Yes Maude, I'll remember. And for the record, you didn't need to ask. But I'm glad you did."

"As am I. Thank you."

Ezra waited until they were alone. "I don't suppose you care to share with that was about?"

"It doesn't concern you Ezra."

"I doubt that." He fought the chill that passed through him. "You should have called me, mother."

She drew on her reserves to smile at him. "You made it clear that you wanted nothing more to do with me. For once, I was trying to honour your wishes."

"If you had asked, I would have come."

Her brow wrinkled. "But your Mr. Larabee indicated you didn't want to be here."

"Because I believed you didn't want me to. Didn't need me to."

"Oh Ezra! How can two people who are so good at talking be so bad at communicating?"

"Years of practice?" He suggested, as he carefully pushed the chair close to the bed and sat beside her.

"I'm sorry Ezra. I know you won't believe me, but I am sorry. For all the lies. For all the –"

"Please. Stop. That is history and cannot be changed. It is not something we need to waste our time dwelling upon."

"What should we do then? Talk about our emotions? Share our feelings?"

Ezra gave a quiet laugh. "Neither suits us. I would like to just sit here with you. If you feel up to it, maybe you could regale me was some of your adventures."

"Don't believe you'd like to hear most of those." She smiled, and it was one of the first genuine smiles he could recall seeing from her. "Do you remember the summer when you were – oh think almost seven years old? I took you to what was supposed to be a country estate and it turned out to be barely a cabin."

Ezra laughed. "Yes. You had been certain the cabin was only a gatehouse to the estate. When you discovered otherwise you wanted to leave immediately. Why didn't we?"

"You. You were so excited about the lake, and about some old tire swing. About a campfire. I had never seen you like that."

"We stayed for – what, a week?"

"It remains the best week of my life."

Ezra's voice cracked. "Even allowing for the fact that you fell into the lake. Twice."

"You tipped that boat on purpose." She accused through her laughter.

Chris stepped away quietly from the door, the sounds coming from within convincing him that Ezra was okay. The four men rose to meet him when he got to the solarium at the far end of the corridor.

"How is she?" Buck asked.

Chris shook his head and turned to JD. "Glad you figured this out when you did.

"How is **he**?"

He stalled, not really sure what answer to give Vin. "It's a good thing Nathan didn't come. If he saw Ezra without the sling and brace he'd skin him."

Josiah nodded as he held a small bag holding the items in question. "Said he didn't want to worry her by walking in with them on."

"Damned fool. How'd you talk him into coming?"

"Didn't. Not really. You did, and I guess all of us did some. But mostly it was just as he really couldn't do anything else. It's who he is." The strain in Vin's voice betrayed how much he was hurting for his friend.

"So why did he fight it?" Buck wondered.

Josiah answered. "Because he didn't want to let us down. He promised himself in San Francisco that he would protect us from her, no matter what it cost him. He had to be convinced we didn't see him coming here as going back on that promise."

"But –"

"Don't try to understand it JD. You won't."

"So, what now?" Vin turned back to Chris.

"We wait."

The only movement to or from Maude's room was the nurse making her rounds. She tried to be as unobtrusive as possible, glad to see her patient wasn't alone anymore.

Late in the evening Vin and Josiah walked by the room quietly on their way to get coffee. Glancing into the half-closed door Vin smiled. Maude was sleeping, as was Ezra. His head was resting on the side of the bed, with Maude's hand on his back. Seeing Vin's reaction, Josiah looked in as well. He quietly opened the door, picking up a light blanket from the bedding cart as he entered. He began to open it out to drape over Ezra when he looked at Maude.

"Damn." He whispered, almost to himself. Vin stopped his own advance.

Ezra's voice was quiet, almost too soft to be heard. "It was just a few minutes ago. She'd been rubbing my back and just stopped."

Josiah put the blanket at the foot of the bed. "I'll get the nurse."

"Yes. Thank you. I can't quite seem to bring myself to leave her yet." He did reach up and gently move her hand away. "She seemed relaxed. Not frightened."

"It was good you were here Ezra." Vin spoke. "I know that had to help her."

"Perhaps. I hope so."

"It did Ezra." JD came into the room. "My Ma told me it meant everything to her that I was with her. Think it made things a lot easier for her, and I'm sure Maude felt the same."

"Our mothers are hardly comparable."

"Maybe, but she's your mom, and you were here. That's all that really matters, right?"

"I suppose."

"Come on Ezra. Let's go sit in the lounge." Vin steered him away as Josiah escorted the nurse in. She reached out and took Ezra's hand. "She was so much more at ease tonight Mr. Standish. I wanted you to know that."

Chris more or less pushed Ezra into a seat in the relative peace of the solarium. "I talked to her doctor for a few minutes when I got here. Everything is taken care of. Maude saw to all of that. There's nothing more you need to do."

Ezra allowed himself to settle slightly into the seat, trying to summon the nerve for what he was about to ask.

"Several months ago I took a deep and unwarranted advantage of our friendship."

"Yes Ezra. I'll say it again. I'm honoured you find the ranch a fitting resting place for your mother. And it's what she asked for too. To try to be close to you. In your memories."

"Mother is not the type of woman anyone is likely to forget. Tell me Chris, what other burden did she place on you? There was clearly another request."

"Not a burden Ezra. Not even something she needed to ask."

"That bad?"

"She just wanted to be sure you were going to be alright."

"Oh, Good Lord. She had no right –"

"She had no need Ezra. We look after each other. Just that simple."

"Yeah Ezra. It's what family does." Vin reiterated.

"That's why she asked." JD reminded him. "Because she cared."

Ezra nodded, feeling an unexpected tear fall to his hand. "I suppose in her own way, she did."

Josiah moved in slowly to take the seat beside him. He gently reached an arm around him, pulling him close and sat quietly as Ezra softly wept.

 _tbc_

 ** _M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7_**

 ** _Note:_** _So I wrote this, and the most of the previous chapter, on the 2nd anniversary of my mother's death. We had the perfect relationship, not at all like the one portrayed here. I have generally written Ezra as having a difficult time dealing with his mother, and I felt the need to resolve that to a degree, while at the same time dealing with the end of the conflict. It has just taken me 18 months to figure out where to fit this into a story. Given how the Cycles storyline started, and since this is just one chapter away from the end of this trilogy (and this small branch of the M7 tree), if felt right. The wonderful thing about fiction is that Maude can and will continue to appear in Ezra's life. It is a shame real life can't work that way._


	12. Chapter 12

"I'm in the kitchen Buck. Come ahead through." Chris had been staring out the window when he'd spotted the familiar car, and driving style, in the distance. Knowing his team as he did he hit the switch for another pot of coffee. By the time Buck's Rover had turned into his lane and pulled to a stop next to Vin's weathered and abused-looking jeep, he had already taken the mugs from the shelf. The slamming of 4 doors confirmed his suspicion that the vehicle had been fully loaded. He called out his directions as soon as he heard the front door open. Buck led the parade of men into the kitchen.

"Well, at least we know why Vin wasn't home." Josiah observed as he approached Chris. "When did he get here?"

"Few hours ago. He's mucking out the stables."

Buck grinned. "What did he do wrong?" He got the expected icy glare from Chris. He would have been disappointed with any other response.

"He says I didn't do a good enough job yesterday."

Nathan gave Chris his own glare. "Don't tell me you were out cleaning the stalls? Damn it Chris. You aren't healed up enough for that kind of exertion."

"It's been weeks Nathan. I'm fine. Anyway, not an issue because as it turns out, I didn't do the cleaning. It was Buck." He grinned at the expression on his long-time friend's face. Buck couldn't decide whether to let the insult pass, or to dispute it, which would mean heading out to challenge Vin, and no doubt get roped into helping with the work. Chris decided to spare him the decision. "He's really just looking for something to keep himself busy with."

"Well, we can help with that. Setting up a search party for Ezra. He's not answering his phone - house or cell. Car is at his place, but no answer when we went up."

"JD, tell me you didn't break in." Chris was pretty sure he knew the answer.

The young man smiled with far more confidence than he felt. "Of course we didn't break in. We had keys."

"After the past few weeks, don't you think he's entitled to some alone time?"

"It's because of the past few weeks we're worried." Josiah answered. "Bad enough he's been on his own, being off work and all. You don't think he might just need to know we're here for him right now?"

"You really think he doesn't know that? Has there been a day since we got back from New York that at least a couple of you haven't called him or dropped in?"

"He's hardly left his place since the day he scattered Maude's ashes. That's not good for him." Nathan replied.

"So you should be pleased he's out now."

Buck had further concerns. "How can we be sure he doesn't still have some of that damned family of his out to get him?"

Chris turned back from the fridge, putting the cream on the counter. "We can't. But with Dylan and William both dead and his boys in jail, that's 5 down. Jacob's kids all seem to be either uninvolved, or keeping their distance. I would guess that with most high enough on various most wanted lists, they have other priorities at the moment. JD, you still have eyes on Simon's brood?"

"Tracking them as best possible. They seem to have decided running is their best bet. One of them is out of the country as well, with the rest back east. I think Simon is in Alaska, but need to confirm that to be certain. I've put their names on Federal watch lists to track everyone."

"How did you get into Homeland secur-…" Chris paused. "Never mind – I don't want to know."

"Do you think Ezra is going to want to contact any of his less troublesome siblings?" Josiah wondered.

Buck snorted. "Given the experience he's had, I'm guessing he won't be hosting a family reunion any time soon. None of this helps us figure out where he is."

"He's here." Chris answered, as he began pouring out coffee. "Vin brought him out this morning."

"What's wrong?"

"He just needed a lift. Said he didn't feel up to driving."

"Arm still bothering him?" Nathan asked immediately.

Chris shrugged. "Maybe a little. Looks a bit tired, but I think he's getting back on track. Vin said they stopped for breakfast - Ezra's idea."

That brought a look of relief to the team 'nursemaid'. "Well, I guess that's something. So, where is he?"

Another shrug as response. "Not sure. He headed out almost as soon as he arrived."

"But you said he was here?" JD asked.

Josiah figured it out first. "Took Chaucer out - didn't he?"

Vin opened the back door in time to hear the question. "Don't recall ever seeing that horse so excited. I think he figured Ezra had plum forgot about him."

"If he can't drive, he shouldn't be riding." Nathan was less than pleased that they had done nothing to stop the activity.

Buck laughed off that concern. "Ezra needs his hands on the wheel to drive. With Chaucer, all he has to do is talk to him."

"Doesn't even have to do that most of the time." Josiah handed Vin a coffee before continuing. "I swear that animal can read his mind. How long have they been gone?"

Vin looked up at the antique clock on the wall. "Just shy of 3 hours now."

Buck looked up in wonder at the time. "It's barely noon. If he went out at 9, after driving and having breakfast - damn, what time did you get him up?"

"He asked me if 7 was too early to pick him up."

"7 o'clock in the MORNING? Ezra asked for that? You sure he's okay?"

"I doubt it's going to be a habit." Vin grinned, thinking about the mumbling Ezra had done on the drive out. Something about the ungodly brightness of the sun, and the observation of how noisy birds could be.

The team wandered out to the patio, sitting quietly for a few minutes before JD couldn't handle the silence. "Three hours? Where to do you think he went?"

Chris paused for a moment, debating the possibilities in his mind. "Nowhere. Everywhere. I think he just went out JD. No specific plan in mind."

Josiah wasn't in complete agreement. "I'd wager he has a plan. At least a final destination for the day."

"He hasn't been to the south ridge since he scattered her ashes there. You figure he was ready to go back?" Chris had found himself out there about a week after the small, private ceremony, much to his surprise. It hadn't been a conscious effort. He was just riding and found himself overlooking the hillside. He sat still, just absorbing the tranquility of the spot. " _We're all keeping an eye on him Maude. He's doing better. Not ok yet, but better_." The leaves and branches above him had rustled with an unexpected gust of wind, and he smiled as he rode back home that day. He'd been back again, and knew he'd be riding there more often. He just couldn't shake the feeling he needed to make an appearance.

Josiah looked toward the south before answering. "I think that's likely why he came today. He wasn't really ready to say goodbye before. It was all just too much, too fast. He's been, well, I guess you could call it adapting since then. And, if he called Vin to ask for a ride, I'd say that was as good a sign as any that the time was right."

"So, do we all just sit here waiting for him? Isn't that gonna be uncomfortable for him?" JD didn't think Ezra would be happy with a welcoming committee, no matter how well intentioned.

"No, not waiting. But there are a mess of chores I could use some help with."

The collective groans were not entirely serious. "Now come on Chris – I just cleaned out the stables yesterday. What more do you want from me?"

"You call that cleaning? I spent two hours in there fixing the mess." Vin teased back. The good-natured ribbing picked up and continued for the next couple of hours as they went about getting things in shape again. Josiah was the first to notice the stack of lumber next to the back garage.

"Finally going to get around to fixing this up?"

There was a moment of silence as Chris thought of what had almost happened there. "The roof. Don't want it leaking in there like it has been. Kinda defeats the purpose of having a garage."

Vin approached. He had the same contemplative look that Chris did. "What about the rest of the damage?"

Chris shook his head. "OK, I know this sound stupid, but I don't know that I want to fix all the rest. Those gaps, those assorted holes are what saved Ezra. Somehow doesn't feel right to repair that."

"Not stupid Chris. I admit to feeling the same way."

Josiah chuckled. "Glad I'm not the only one to get sentimental over rotten window casings. I'll get the ladder and we can start hauling this up top to work on the roof."

Before he could make good on the offer, JD called out loud enough for them to hear, but without the sound carrying. "He's headed in."

They all went back to chores, trying to look casual as they watched Ezra ride in slowly from the south end of the ranch. He was shaking his head, laughing lightly by the time he got to the stables.

"I take back any suggestions I have ever made that might encourage you men to delve further into undercover work. You all have the nonchalance and subtly of a platoon of tanks." He casually dismounted, laughing lightly again at the scrutiny Nathan gave him during the process. "I assure you, my arm is fine. The day I cannot mount and dismount one handed is the day I hand the reins to another."

"Maybe," Nathan reluctantly accepted, "but removing all that gear and brushing him down is another matter."

"I will concede, Vin had to assist in the preparation for the ride."

JD approached cautiously, know Chaucer could be extremely particular about having others handle him. "How about it fella? What do you say to letting me give Ezra a hand with getting you settled?" He was certain the animal was watching him with the same degree of scrutiny Nathan had leveled at Ezra a moment earlier. A soft whiney, and gentle nudge pushing his owner aside showed Chaucer had accepted the proposal.

"Well, I know when I am not longer needed." Ezra reached into his pocket to retrieve his few remaining peppermint treats and offered them to his ride. "Thank you for an excellent day my friend." He watched JD lead him away before turning back to the others. "Now, I shall proceed to the do the same process of cleaning up after my excursion, if you don't mind."

"Help yourself to whatever you need. We were just talking about throwing some steaks on the grill a little later on. Think you might want to stick around for that?" Chris left the invitation casual, not wanting to push Ezra into anything.

"That sounds tempting. I shall leave the decision in the hands of my chauffeur for the day."

"Well, I ain't stupid enough to turn down a steak dinner. If you're not too tired…"

"My day was not strenuous. Chaucer did most of the work, and I spent a couple of hours just sitting back, looking out over the valley to the south."

"Peaceful spot to relax." Josiah commented.

"It can be." Ezra took a few steps toward the house before turning back. "I am cognisant of the reality that none of you gentlemen appreciate overt demonstrations of sentiment, and it is outside our natures to be effusive or maudlin. But, I would be remiss, and less than honest if I did not take the opportunity to –" he paused, and then quietly laughed at himself.

"Listen to me. So full of myself, so conditioned, I seem to have forgotten how to state a simple fact. I would not have survived, physically, mentally or emotionally, all that I have had to in recent months without each and every one of you standing by me. There are no words, however meaningful – or pretentious –they may be, that can express my appreciation, my gratitude, for everything you have done. I know you will say it was nothing, that it was just what we do, but I assure you, it was not 'nothing' to me."

Josiah agreed. "No son, you're right. It is what we do, all of us, for each other. And being there for each other, no matter what, is most definitely not 'nothing'. It's everything."

 **The End**

 **M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7**


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